Tag: Carolina Heelsplitter
The content below has been tagged with the term “Carolina Heelsplitter.”
Articles
Private landowners step up to save the Carolina Heelsplitter
September 28, 2018 | 2 minute readEllison McDow and his grandfather Donnie Evans displaying Carolina heelsplitters that will soon be released on Mr. Evan’s property. Photo by FWS. South Carolina, like many states in the Southeast Region, is mostly made up of private lands. Therefore, these lands and their owners are crucial to any effort aimed at recovery of endangered species. Last fall, a number of private entities voluntarily contributed to the ongoing recovery efforts for the critically endangered Carolina heelsplitter, a freshwater mussel. Learn more...
Carolina heelsplitters ready to be stocked. Photo by FWS.
Fish passage project benefits Carolina heelsplitter
October 13, 2017 | 2 minute readIn Lancaster County, South Carolina, more than three miles of critical habitat has been cleared for the Carolina heelsplitter, a mussel federally listed as endangered. Carolina heelsplitter. Photo by USFWS. The county is home to about one-third of the heelsplitter’s remaining occupied habitat. In South Carolina, the heelsplitter is only found in the Savannah, Saluda, Catawba and Pee Dee river systems in York, Lancaster, Chester, Kershaw, Chesterfield, Edgefield, McCormick, Greenwood, and Saluda Counties. Learn more...
Gills Creek Drive crossing at Gills Creek after replacement Photo by USFWS.
Musseling back from near extinction
June 12, 2017 | 7 minute readOnly an estimated 154 Carolina heelsplitters remain in the wild. A shocking revelation for a species that’s been listed as endangered since 1993, but biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) will not give up. Finding the Carolina heelsplitter, one of the most imperiled freshwater mussels in the Southeast, will bring delight to any biologist lucky enough to wade in its waters. Carolina heelsplitter. Photo by USFWS. Learn more...
Carolina heelsplitter mussels. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS.
News
Fish and Wildlife Service conducts five-year status reviews of eight southeastern species
March 9, 2018 | 3 minute readAs part of the process mandated by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct five-year status reviews of eight endangered fish, wildlife, and plants. These species are found in the Southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. The public is invited to provide information and comments concerning these species on or before May 11, 2018. These five-year reviews will ensure listing classifications under the ESA are accurate and recommend changes in status where appropriate based on the latest science and analysis. Read the full story...
Coqui Llanero. Photo by Luis J. Villanueva CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
2016 National and Regional Recovery Champions
May 19, 2017 | 8 minute readOn Endangered Species Day, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region celebrates the contributions and achievements of our nationally recognized Recovery Champions and regionally recognized Recovery Champions. These dedicated individuals have devoted themselves to recovering endangered and threatened animals and plants, and the Service is grateful for their hard work. 2016 National Recovery Champions Chris Lucash, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chris Lucash in the field monitoring for red wolves. Read the full story...
Smooth Purple Coneflower, Echinacea laevigata. Photo by Suzanne Cadwell, CC BY-NC 2.0.
Podcasts
North Carolinas Conservation Aquaculture Center
June 2, 2014 | 2 minute readTranscript Greetings and welcome to the Southern Appalachian Creature Feature. It’s a non-descript metal building in a compound tucked on the edge of Marion, North Carolina. From the outside, it looks like just another small warehouse. However, step inside and it’s clear you’re in no warehouse. This is the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Conservation Aquaculture Center. Inside, the hum of water pumps fills the air, and you see shelves filled with water basins and a network of PVC pipes moving water through them. Learn more...
Lampsilis mussels at the NCWRC’s Conservation Aquaculture Center. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS.
North Carolina’s conservation aquaculture center
August 4, 2010 | 2 minute readTranscript Greetings and welcome to the Southern Appalachian Creature Feature. The Carolina heelsplitter mussel is one of the rarest animals in the country – with shrinking numbers found in only a handful of stream reaches across the Carolina piedmont. A conservation challenge, the mussel has declined as the piedmont, especially the area around Charlotte, has rapidly developed and streams have correspondingly degraded. However, one glimmer of hope is found outside Marion, North Carolina, inside what appears to simply be a large storage shed. Learn more...
Carolina heelsplitter mussels. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS.