Critical habitat zones have been proposed to protect freshwater mussels

Critical habitat zones have been proposed to protect freshwater mussels

Megan Bradley, chief mussel biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, prepares to release mussels into the Mississippi River along Iowa's eastern border on July 26, 2023. The wildlife agency is proposing critical habitat zones to protect four species of mussels, whose numbers have declined by 70 percent. (The Gazette)

Megan Bradley, chief mussel biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, prepares to release mussels into the Mississippi River along Iowa’s eastern border on July 26, 2023. The wildlife agency is proposing critical habitat zones to protect four species of mussels, whose numbers have declined by 70 percent. (The Gazette)

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As the numbers of freshwater mussels in North America continue to decline, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to identify critical habitat to protect the species.

The agency is proposing to designate 3,974 river miles of the Mississippi River as habitat for four species of mussels: the ray bean, the sheepnose, the snuffbox and the spectacled bean.

Iowa’s proposed critical habitat zone focuses on the spectacled and sheepnose mussels and would extend from the Quad Cities south to Keokuk.

Nick Utrup, a fish and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said critical habitat designations are “one tool in the toolbox for species recovery.”

When a species is listed as threatened, “critical habitat can be designated so we know where to focus recovery efforts, or where to focus conservation efforts,” Utrup said. “It really helps us identify some of the best areas for recovery.”

Kevin Roe, associate professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University, said the designation could be a game-changer for the four mussel species.

“By designating critical habitat, U.S. Fish and Game seeks to protect habitat that evidence shows is essential to the continued existence and eventual recovery and delisting of these species,” Roe said in an email.

Kevin Roe, Iowa State University

Kevin Roe, Iowa State University

If the rule becomes final, all activities in designated areas that use federal funding would be required to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to minimize impacts to mussels.

“It is important that the public understands that this designation does not apply to private property unless the activity is funded or authorized by a federal agency,” Roe said.

About the mussels

The glasses case types are larger mussels which grow up to 9 centimeters long and can live up to 100 years.

They were once found in 61 rivers and streams, but now inhabit 40 waterways, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The population of glasses cases is estimated to have decreased 60 percent.

The sheep’s nose mussel – also known as bullhead or clear gain – grows to about 2 inches long, has a thick, tan shell and typically lives 30 years.

The sheepnose mussels were once found in 79 streams and rivers, but are now found in only 22 waterways in 14 states, including Iowa.

According to the Animal Protection Society, freshwater mussels are considered “of nature”.best filter systems“Because a single freshwater mussel can filter five to ten liters of water per day.

When mussel populations decline, it can hinder musselfish migration, cause excessive sedimentation and spread invasive species such as zebra mussels.

In total, the Fish and Wildlife Service proposes approximately 801 river miles of critical habitat for the sheepnose and approximately 1,143 river miles for the showpiece.

Utrup said mussel species live in “Goldilocks zones” in freshwater rivers and streams, where they form in “deposition zones” protected by the currents in riverbeds.

“The mussel beds are typically in a certain part of the stream that is a little bit sheltered, but has a little bit of hydraulic flow so it keeps a nice flow across the bottom,” Utrup said. “You don’t normally find mussels in drifting sand or something like that.”

Nick Utrup, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Nick Utrup, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The critical habitat proposal includes sections of 16 other states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Utrup believes the proposed zone in Iowa is the only section within the Mississippi River itself. The zones in other states are in tributaries of the river.

Although the proposal is along Iowa’s eastern border, native mussels can be found elsewhere in the state, Roe said.

“The rivers that flow into the Mississippi River contain the greatest number of species, while the rivers that flow into the Missouri River tend to have fewer species,” he said.

Why the decline?

The critical habitat proposal comes as 70 percent of mussel species in North America are declining, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The drop of mussels is due to several factors, Roe said.

“A number of factors appear to have played a role in the decline of native mussels, including competition from non-native species (and) poor water quality,” Roe said.

Also “man-made structures, such as damsaffect the hydrology of the rivers in which they live and may prevent some mussel species from interacting with their host fish, which is necessary for successful reproduction.”

Utrup said it was “difficult” to decide which rivers and states should be added to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s critical habitat proposal.

“More than half of these mussel species are considered endangered or in poor condition,” says Utrup. “These four mussel species are in particularly poor condition due to their limited numbers or the limited locations where they occur.”

To qualify for the critical habitat proposal, Utrup said the young mussels – which are less than five years old – must be present every decade, for the last four decades.

Of the nearly 300 mussel species on the continent, 7 percent are extinct, 21 percent are listed as endangered and 40 percent are considered endangered.

This is also because the agency has proposed critical habitat for the endangered animals rusty patched bumblebee in November, which is now in the public comment period until Jan. 27.

The mussel designation proposal went live on the Federal Register website on December 13, with public comment through February 11.

Olivia Cohen covers energy and environment for The Gazette and is a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Notes: [email protected]

How to submit a comment

The public can comment on the proposed mussel critical habitat zones, posted at regulations.gov by searching docket number FWS-R3-ES-2024-0144.

The public comment period closes on February 11.

Megan Bradley, chief mussel biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, displays mussels before they are released into the Mississippi River in Iowa on July 26, 2023. (The Gazette)

Megan Bradley, chief mussel biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, displays mussels before they are released into the Mississippi River in Iowa on July 26, 2023. (The Gazette)

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