Described as the most imperiled fauna in north america, freshwater mussels are experiencing precipitous declineswith extinction rates projected to be as high as 50 by the end of the century

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 6 awarded a $314,922 State Wildlife Grant (CFDA 15.634) to the South Dakota Game Fish & PK Wildlife Division to support freshwater mussel conservation efforts across South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska. The project aims to expand captive propagation of four at-risk mussel species, conduct mark-recapture studies to evaluate reintroduction success, and utilize habitat suitability modeling and environmental DNA analysis to identify priority waterways for future surveying, monitoring, and reintroduction activities. These efforts are intended to improve the limited understanding of freshwater mussel distribution and status, and supplement ongoing recovery actions for these imperiled species. The grant funding will support collaborative work with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, South Dakota State University, and the University of South Dakota.

Given their sedentary lifestyleand vulnerability to numerous threats including habitat alterations, pollution, and climate change, IT isunlikely that these filter feeders will persist in historic locations without human intervention. Captivepropagation has been instrumental in the conservation of at-risk mussel species allowing for their augmentation, reintroduction, and introduction. Nebraska, in collaboration with south dakota and wyoming, hopes to expand upontheir successful propagation efforts by rearing four additional mussel species of greatest conservation need attheir facility. These states will partner with the university of nebraska- lincoln to conduct a mark-recapturestudy to further evaluate the success of reintroductions in nebraska and wyoming which began in 2016 and 2020,respectively. Because the current distribution and status of freshwater mussels is poorly understood, IT isdifficult to identify potential source brood to maintain genetic diversity in the hatchery, locate waterwaysappropriate for reintroduction, or even assess the declines of historically common species. By incorporatinghabitat suitability modelling through a partnership with south dakota state university and working with theuniversity of south dakota to analyze environmental DNA (edna) which builds upon recent surveys from easternwyoming, we intend to identify priority waterways across the three states for future surveying, monitoring, andreintroduction efforts. These actions will further supplement our limited understanding of freshwater mussels andcontinue the upward trajectory in the recovery of these imperiled species.