by Kirsten Delamarter

In mid-August, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) surveyed a site on the Green River to assess the presence of freshwater mussels. Kentucky Division of Water and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet assisted in the effort. 

Though KDFWS monitors sites throughout the state, the Green River is one of the most diverse in terms of freshwater mussel species.

To conduct the survey, KDFWS divided the site into a grid. Working in square-meter increments, teams of scientists uncovered mussels from the river bottom, measured and identified each individual mussel, recorded the data and then returned the mussels to the river. At the end of the day, the group had surveyed about 800 square meters of river and found 31 species of mussel, including the endangered fanshell, sheepnose, rough pigtoe, pink mucket and purple catspaw.

For more information about the work of KDFWR’s Center for Mollusk Conservation, visit fw.ky.gov.