TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.: Federal regulators Monday proposed listing as threatened two freshwater mussel species native to many eastern U.S. rivers and streams.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said longsolid and round hickorynut mussels have disappeared from some states and are doing poorly elsewhere. They are among roughly 300 species of freshwater mussels across the nation, two-thirds of which are in peril.
A designation of threatened means they’re likely to become endangered, or at risk of extinction, in the foreseeable future in much or all of their range.
Adding them to the federal list will raise awareness of their plight and generate resources and partnerships aimed at rescuing them, the fish and wildlife service said.
Freshwater mussels are at the leading edge of the U.S. extinction crisis, so its a relief…