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Native Mussels

In September, personnel from our office, in partnership with Vermont Nongame and Natural Heritage Program, found several elktoe mussel (Alasmidonta marginata) shells in the Lamoille River between Fairfax Falls and Fairfax. This species had not been previously reported from the Lake Champlain basin.

Another Native Mussel initiative, funded through the Lake Champlain Ecosystem Team, was to locate and evaluate the rare mussel species in the Poultney River and Lewis Creek. This study designed a quantitative survey method, to be conducted on a rotational basis, to access population trends of rare mussel species within specific river reaches. The mussels targeted in this study were Ligumia recta (black sandshell), Lasmigona costata (fluted shell), Lampsilis ovata (pocketbook), Leptodea fragilis (fragile papershell), Potamilus alatus (pink heelsplitter), and Pyganodon grandis (giant floater). Lake Champlain is the only location of six of these seven rare mussel species in New England.