FOREST COUNTY, Pa. — Threatened and endangered mussels from waterways in Forest County area and surrounding areas have been finding new homes this month.
Relocation efforts have been underway to remove threatened and endangered species mussels from areas of waterways that will be impacted by scheduled bridge replacement projects in District 1. The mussels have been moved to other waterways, or to up-steam locations in existing waterways.
During September, scuba divers have removed mussels from:
• The Allegheny River beneath the Hunter Station Bridge near Tionesta, Forest County;
• French Creek under the Mead Avenue Bridge in Meadville, Crawford County;
• The Little Shenango River under the Race Street Bridge in Greenville, Mercer County;
• French Creek at the Cochranton Bridge at Cochranton, Crawford County.
PennDOT is required to protect and relocate threatened and endangered mussels in streams that will be impacted by bridge projects under the Endangered Species Act.
Northwestern Pennsylvania has an abundance of various threatened and endangered mussel species, with particularly significant populations located in areas of the Allegheny River and French Creek.
The hope is to transport the mussels to other locations where they once existed, in an effort to reestablish populations, ensure the viability of the various species and to reach the goal of the Endangered Species Act, which is to enable specie populations to recover to the point where that species can be removed from the threatened and endangered list.
The mussels are cleaned, tagged and are hauled by pickup truck in coolers to waterways in Pennsylvania and other states.
Mussels from the Allegheny River in Forest County were removed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission as a part of an ongoing pilot program by that agency and PennDOT.
In Pennsylvania, 180 threatened and endangered mussels from the Allegheny River were relocated into each of three different sites along the Shenango River between Jamestown and Greenville in Mercer County and 180 threatened and endangeredmussels are being relocated into each of two sites along Conewango Creek in Warren County.
Additional mussels were removed from the Allegheny River in Forest County to be moved to other states to help reestablish populations. Those mussels were relocated to waterways in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and Illinois by agencies and organizations from those states.
Mussels from French Creek and the Little Shenango River were gathered by EnviroScience of Stow, Ohio, a consultant working for PennDOT District 1. More than 3,500 mussels from those waterways, including more than 350 threatened and endangered mussels — were taken to streams in West Virginia.
Threatened and endangered mussel species that have been relocated from PennDOT District 1 bridge sites include the northern riffleshell, snuffbox, rayed bean, and rabbitsfoot mussels.
Notes: Tim Williaman of EnviroScience of Stow, Ohio, and Autumn Kelley, environmental specialist with PennDOT District 1, sort and tag mussels that were removed from French Creek in the area that will be impacted by the Cochranton Bridge replacement project. Two programs have been under way in September to relocate threatened and endangered mussel species from northwestern Pennsylvania waterways where bridge projects are scheduled.
