Project Description
Freshwater mussels are important bioindicators in the riverine ecosystem. Adult mussels are largely sessile and help purify the water as they filter feed on small organic particles. Freshwater mussel populations are in decline due to habitat loss and degradation, pollution, alterations in water flow, intense flooding, the loss of host fish, and disease. Mussels are frequently under-surveyed since it requires high levels of taxonomic expertise due to their habitat, morphology, and cryptic nature.
To compensate for injuries to freshwater mussels from the disposal of coal tar into the Connecticut River, the Holyoke Natural Resource Trustees provided funding to the MA Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) to conduct surveys to delineate and monitor populations of freshwater mussels in high quality habitat where data were lacking, with a focus on locating federally endangered dwarf wedgemussel and state endangered brook floater and yellow lampmussel. The areas surveyed included three reaches of the Connecticut River mainstem and six tributaries: Broad Brook, Running Gutter Brook, Mill River, Bachelor Brook, Fort River, and Quahog River. Wading was conducted to survey mussel populations in shallow areas less than one foot deep, snorkeling was used in areas between one and three feet deep, and SCUBA gear was used to survey areas more than three feet deep. The data collected from these surveys were used to ensure that conservation and restoration efforts can effectively be applied to freshwater mussel populations in Massachusetts' portion of the Connecticut River watershed.
Parties Implementing Restoration
Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program
DOI Project Representatives
Fish and Wildlife Service