Propagation efforts for the purple ( tennessee) bean have been substantial since IT was first listed in 1997 (62 FR 1648), and improved culture techniques have resulted in steady increases in…

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Recovery Implementation Federal Grant Program (CFDA 15.657) provides $400,000 in funding from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2034 to support the recovery of the Tennessee Bean mussel. The key objectives are to: (1) fund a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop and implement a health and viability monitoring program for Tennessee Bean mussels propagated at the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Center, (2) coordinate an experimental cohort study framework with partners to track the outcomes of released propagated mussels, and (3) assess the health, condition, and viability of Tennessee Bean mussels to determine the probability of establishing self-sustaining wild populations at restoration sites. This grant aims to increase propagation and recovery efforts for the Tennessee Bean across its range over the next 10 years.

Propagation efforts for the purple ( tennessee) bean have been substantial since IT was first listed in 1997 (62 FR 1648), and improved culture techniques have resulted in steady increases in survival, growth, and propagation capacity. When listed and reviewed in 2013, the purple bean (villosa perpurpurea) was limited to the tennessee river system and recognized as a mussel with a purple nacre. At that time its close relative, the cumberland bean (villosa trabalis), was reported to occur in both the tennessee and cumberland river systems as a white-nacred mussel. Recently, taxonomy for the cumberland bean and purple bean has changed based on genetic and phylogenetic taxonomic assessments by kuenhl (2009) and lane ET AL. (2016, 2019). These studies provided evidence supporting recognition of the cumberland river populations of the cumberland bean as venustaconcha troostensis, while the tennessee river populations of both villosa trabalis and villosa perpurpurea were combined and recognized as a single species, now venustaconcha trabalis (tennessee bean). While the name change has not yet been formally recognized in the legal listing status, these changes were listed in the most recent 5-year review (service 2020). Limited data on survival and growth have shown that these efforts are somewhat successful thus far, but future monitoring and continued augmentations will be needed to determine if successful reproduction is occurring in the wild. The purpose of this project is provide targeted scientific support to an incipient effort to create increased propagation effort to achieve the recovery of tennessee bean populations throughout the species range over the next ten years (2025-2034). Specific objectives of this project include: (1) funding a PHD student at the university of wisconsin-madison to develop and implement a health and viability monitoring program in support of the virginia department of wildlife resources (VDWR) aquatic wildlife conservation center (AWCC) efforts to drastically increase production and release of hatchery propagated tennessee bean mussels at multiple restoration sites throughout their range for ten years, (2) coordinating an effort with partners (including USFWS, DWR, the alabama department of conservation and natural resources and others) to establish an experimental design utilizing a cohort study framework to track the outcomes of mussels propagated and released in support of achieving recovery plan objectives and (3) cooperating with partners to assess the health, condition, and viability of individuals and cohorts of tennessee bean to determine their probability of success in establishing self-sustaining wild populations at restoration sites.