Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Massachusetts
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

The Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa) is a stream-dwelling freshwater mussel native to the Atlantic Slope of the United States and Canada that has experienced large population declines over the last 50 years and is at high risk of extinction. The species’ distribution has been restricted to approximately 50% of its historic sites, is listed as Threatened or Endangered by most states where it occurs, and has been petitioned for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Five states within the region were awarded a competitive State Wildlife Grant (SWG) to increase range-wide cooperative conservation efforts and strategic planning towards reducing further population losses, and defining approaches for recovery of A. varicosa. This project will focus on strategies for achieving conservation through multiple objectives: (1) Project partners will build upon findings from a recently completed range-wide status assessment. (2) Partners will develop a conservation working group that will help to develop initiate standardized surveys that will be conducted throughout partnering states to estimate abundances and predict occupancy of Brook Floater and associated SGCN mussels. (3) We will utilize Structured Decision Making approaches to focus monitoring design and conservation planning objectives at the state and regional scale. (4) We will coordinate the development of propagation methods and approaches for population restoration. (5) We will identify additional site-specific conservation actions to benefit A. varicosa and associated SGCN habitat.