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 awarded a $106,450 Project Grant under the State Wildlife Grants (CFDA 15.634) program to the Game & Fish Commission Wyoming's Fiscal Division. This 3-year grant, effective January 1, 2024, aims to expand upon the Commission's successful freshwater mussel propagation and reintroduction efforts in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Key activities include:

• Rearing four additional mussel species of greatest conservation need at the Commission's facility
• Conducting a mark-recapture study to evaluate the success of mussel reintroductions that began in 2016 and 2020
• Partnering with universities to incorporate habitat suitability modeling and environmental DNA analysis to identify priority waterways for future mussel surveys, monitoring, and reintroduction efforts

This grant supports the Commission's work to address the precipitous decline of freshwater mussels, a critically imperiled fauna in North America, through captive propagation and strategic reintroduction programs. The activities will enhance the limited understanding of mussel distribution and status, and further the recovery of these threatened species across the three states.

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.