The tan riffleshell, an endangered mussel in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, is showing signs of natural population increases for the first time. Staff from the National Park Service and the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources have been working together to recover the Big South Fork populations of this species by supplementing their numbers.
The tan riffleshell was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1977. The biggest threat is habitat destruction caused by coal mining, as coal ash has polluted the rivers where the mussel lives.
Freshwater mussels are considered a sign of healthy rivers and lakes. Because they eat small particles suspended in the water, they act as a filter and produce clean water. When they are overwhelmed by excessive sediment and pollution and entire colonies start dying, it can be a sign of a much larger problem.
As part of recovery efforts, male and female tan riffleshell mussels were collected from Big South Fork and used to produce thousands of baby mussels. These small mussels have been added to limited locations where the species is known to exist at Big South Fork over the last few years.
“We are delighted that water quality in the Big South Fork is now able to support this species. Because mussels are filter feeders, they are highly sensitive to pollution, and their presence can offer a reliable assessment of the river they inhabit,” said superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas.
A recent mussel survey at the Big South Fork found the tan riffleshell at sites not previously known to have the species. The Park Service notes that some of the riffleshells found were juveniles, an exciting discovery that suggests that the Big South Fork population is growing and spreading naturally due to the recovery efforts.
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