Statewide Survey for Freshwater Mussels Begins

The first statewide survey for freshwater mussels in 40 years in Wisconsin gets under way this month as conservation biologists scan streambeds for aquatic animals once sought-after for buttons and pearls and now recognized as critical cogs in aquatic ecosystems and indicators of those systems’ health. Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled groups of animals on the planet, with 70 percent of the world’s mussel species declining. In Wisconsin, more than half of the 51 native mussel species are endangered, threatened or listed as species of concern. The statewide survey is funded through a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service grant received by the DNR Natural Heritage Conservation Program and will use the same standardized methods.