Millions of years ago, a tiny marine creature thrived alongside the dinosaurs.

After ocean waters receded from its habitat, these blind and colorless crustaceans evolved into freshwater swimmers call isopods. One of those isopods, the Madison Cave isopod (Antrolana lira), survived millions of years and now resides in only a few underground caves and aquifers in parts of Virginia and West Virginia. But it offers biologists much broader insights.

Read more

In recognition of Earth Day, Virginia Ecological Services and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge teamed up with the Hampton Roads Sanitation District to give local high school students field experience with inventorying aquatic life.

Read more

Looking for a good place to swim and fish? If you find freshwater mussels thriving there, chances are that you’ve found one.

Read more

America's freshwater mussels are a group of animals so inconspicuous they are often mistaken for rocks. Lying on the bottom of lakes, rivers and creeks, they rarely move and eat by filtering water for microscopic food particles. But throughout much of North America, the presence of these creatures signals healthy water. Their distress has sent an urgent message. Most of their river and stream habitats have been destroyed by dams, pollution, and invasive species such as the zebra mussel. But mussel biologists and researchers are responding, working to improve habitat conditions for mussels, to better understand their needs and to raise them in captivity.

Read more in a Science magazine article.

On Saturday June 23, 2012 at Riverview Park in Charlottesville children and their parents participated in Flexing Our Mussels - the Rivanna River Mussel Festival.

This annual festival was sponsored by the Rivanna Conservation Society, the VA Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries and The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Learn more

Photo Caption: Children and their families participated in the Flexing Our Mussels event on June 23

The Service, Virginia Tech, Lincoln Memorial University, and several other partners released more than 6,500 endangered mussels on Tuesday into the Tennessee stretch of the Powell River. The release represents the largest recovery effort for the three species, and all were raised at Tech's Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center in Blacksburg, Va. The Powell River is one of the nation's most diverse, with nearly 100 types of fish and 35 types of mussels, but it has long faced threats from pollution. Its restoration has been supported by the Service's Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration program, which uses non-taxpayer funds to restore natural resources damaged by oil spills or releases of hazardous substances.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners completed a stream restoration project on the North Fork Powell River in southwest Virginia's Pennington Gap this past month. The project used natural channel design to guide restoration of more than 700 feet of the river flowing through Leeman Field Park. The river bank eroded and in-stream habitat was lost from channel instability, changes in stormwater runoff, and loss of plants along the streambank. The channel was too wide, creating a large depositional island, and minimal water habitat was present within the reach.

Biologists installed three rock and log structures and constructed bank benches to narrow the channel. The restored reach now has enhanced streamflow during normal flows, while maintaining adequate flood storage during storm events. Biologists also did work in the stream to provide diverse habitat for fish and mussels.

One acre of riverside was also established for wildlife habitat and shading through kudzu control, tree planting, and herbaceous vegetation establishment. A 1.5-mile greenway trail will begin construction this fall that runs parallel to the stream restoration project, from Leeman Field to a nearby grocery store parking lot. The stream restoration and trail will provide the community with outdoor recreation opportunities, including hiking, biking and fishing, along with public outreach and education about the important benefits of good water quality and in-stream habitat.

Partners included: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Upper Tennessee River Roundtable, Town of Pennington Gap, Tennessee Valley Authority, Daniel Boone Soil and Water Conservation District, AmeriCorp National Civilian Community Corps volunteer team, Canaan Valley Institute, Environmental Services, Inc., and Shenandoah StreamWorks, LLC.

The Roanoke Times recently published an article (PDF) about court proceeedings that occurred as a result of a chemical spill that occurred on the Blacksburg Country Club property. The Blacksburg Country Club has agreed to pay nearly $19,000 and finance environmental restoration projects to make amends for environmental damages resulting from the spill. The agreement reached in federal court is the latest regulatory action to come from a 2007 accident that dumped herbicides into the North Fork of the Roanoke River, killing about 10,000 fish. Combined with an earlier state enforcement action, the incident will wind up costing the country club more than $60,000. The court action was taken to address the approximately 170 Roanoke logperch, a federally endangered species, that were killed as a result of the spill.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the sheepnose and the spectaclecase, two freshwater mussels found in river systems in the eastern half of the United States, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Sheepnose are currently found in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The sheepnose occurs in 25 streams, down from 76, a 67 percent decline. Very few of these populations are known to be reproducing. The spectaclecase once occurred in at least 44 streams but now occurs in 20 streams, a 55 percent reduction in the number of occupied streams. Of the 20 remaining populations, six are represented by only one or two known specimens each. Spectaclecase mussels are currently found in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In listing the two mussels, the Service evaluated factors related to the species that could lead to extinction. Threats to both the sheepnose and the spectaclecase include loss and degradation of stream and river habitat due to impoundments, channelization, chemical contaminants, mining and sedimentation. Freshwater mussels require clean water; their decline often signals a decline in the water quality of the streams and rivers they inhabit. The Service’s final rule appears in the March 13, 2013, Federal Register. The Service will now develop a recovery plan for the two species and work cooperatively with partners to conserve their habitats. It is illegal under the ESA to kill, harm or otherwise “take” a listed species, or to posses, import, export or conduct interstate or international commerce without authorization from the Service. The ESA also requires all federal agencies to ensure actions they authorize, fund, or undertake do not jeopardize the existence of listed species. Photo Caption:Sheepnose Mussel. Credit: USFWS.

More information on mussels and endangered wildlife can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/endangered/

The Virginian-Pilot recently published an article about the recently completed restoration project at Lake Tecumseh in Virginia Beach. The project, consisting of the construction of two small weirs at the south end of the lake, was completed in February 2011. The purpose of the project was to physically separate Back Bay from Lake Tecumseh, as it was historically prior to 1960. New monitoring data confirm that the project is working as advertised. Submerged aquatic vegetation has already returned to the lake and water levels are consistently higher, providing greater recreational opportunities. Some current criticism of the project has been that the project is responsible for increased flooding in the area. However, government studies have shown that the project is not responsible for these impacts; the increased flooding is likely a result of unusually wet weather, heavy tides, and wind. The complete Virginian-Pilot article is available for more information. Photo Caption: Topographic map depicting the locations of two weirs installed for the Lake Tecumseh project. Credit: USFWS.

Read more about the Lake Tecumseh project

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed two freshwater mussels – the rayed bean and the snuffbox – as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The two mussels are found in river systems in the eastern United States. The rayed bean is currently found in rivers in Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia, as well as Ontario, Canada. The snuffbox occurs in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. In its final rule listing the two species under the ESA, the Service pointed to dramatic declines in their populations. The rayed bean has been eliminated from 73 percent of its historical range, and the snuffbox has disappeared from 62 percent of the streams in which it was historically found. The final rule appears in the February 14, 2012, Federal Register. Threats to both the rayed bean and the snuffbox include loss and degradation of stream and river habitat due to impoundments, channelization, chemical contaminants, mining and sedimentation. Freshwater mussels require clean water; their decline often signals a decline in the water quality of the streams and rivers they inhabit. The Service will now work cooperatively with partners to develop recovery plans for the two mussels and coordinate efforts to conserve their habitats. Under the ESA, “endangered” means a species is in danger of becoming extinct throughout all or a significant portion of its range. It is illegal under the ESA to kill, harm or otherwise “take” a listed species, or to posses, import, export or conduct interstate or international commerce without authorization from the Service. The ESA also requires all federal agencies to ensure actions they authorize, fund, or undertake do not jeopardize the existence of listed species. Photo Caption:Snuffbox Mussel. Credit: USFWS.

More information on mussels and endangered wildlife can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/endangered/