SRBC Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership

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Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership is a voluntary affiliation of stakeholders drawn by our interest in freshwater mussels to:

Advance and promote Conservation & Restoration; and,
Evaluate Water Quality best management practices (BMPs) to lessen excess nutrients and sediment in tributaries to the Bay.

Interest in freshwater mussels throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is growing and for good reasons, such as:

Freshwater mussels are among North America’s and the Bay Region’s most endangered group of organisms
Freshwater mussels have unique life strategies linked to individual fish species
Much like benthic macroinvertebrates, freshwater mussels are indicators of existing water quality conditions in a stream
As they feed, freshwater mussels transfer suspended matter from the water column to the stream bed
Freshwater mussels are ecosystem engineers, capable of modifying aquatic habitat to make conditions more suitable for themselves and other organisms

Sampling for freshwater mussels in Codorus Creek Mussel Sampling in Susquehanna River

Sampling for freshwater mussels in Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam

News & Announcements

Bay Journal: Have mussels, will travel: New mobile lab gives bivalves a lift
April 15, 2024

PA Fish and Boat Commission: Collaborative Grant Awarded To Restore Freshwater Mussels In West Branch Susquehanna River
December 18, 2023

Watershed Alliance of York Newsletter: Freshwater Mussel Survey
October 12, 2023

The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society announced a Call for Abstracts for the poster session at its Guidelines and Techniques Workshop, March 4-7, 2024, in Auburn, Alabama
October 12, 2023

Video: Partnership members survey mussels in Lower Susquehanna this summer
September 18, 2023

Meetings & Events Calendar

Partnership Steering Committee Meeting 2024 Schedule:

4th Friday of every month

8-9 am (invitation only)

Resources

Freshwater Mussel Publications (link to Google sheet)

About Us

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership evolved mainly from the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Science & Technical Advisory Committee workshop (March 5-6, 2020): Incorporating Freshwater Mussels into the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and state of Maryland’s workshop (April 13, 2022): Broaden and Enhance Regional Freshwater Mussel Partnerships in the Chesapeake Bay.

In 2023, staff from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission transitioned to the role of coordinators for the Regional Freshwater Mussel Partnership. As coordinators, SRBC staff: facilitate communication among the Partnership members, Action Teams, and Steering Committees and with pertinent elements of the Chesapeake Bay Program; schedule Partnership Steering Committee meetings; coordinate an Annual Symposium; and manage resources and information for this web page.