Freshwater Mussel Conservation Plan

Table of Contents & Links

Key

📄 = Download PDF
🗺️ = Interactive Map

📄 About This Report (Complete PDF)

  • Cover Page
  • Acknowledgement
  • Table of Contents
  • List of Abbreviations
  • Executive Summary

Chapters

🗺️ Explore PA Major River Basins (Interactive Map)

Click a basin to view an overview and downloadable PDFs.

Future Work

Supplementary Material

Appendices

The Pennsylvania Freshwater Mussel Conservation Plan is a comprehensive planning document that provides a blueprint for freshwater mussel data collection, restoration, and protection in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

As one of the world’s most imperiled group of animals, freshwater mussels are declining throughout much of their range due to impacts from human induced land use changes, sedimentation and water quality challenges, dams and impoundments, invasive species, and more.

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy developed this comprehensive plan in partnership with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission with funding provided by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Additionally, dozens of other mussel biologists and conservationists across multiple states assisted with the development of the plan, which was constructed on the foundation of the Pennsylvania Freshwater Mussel Database, a comprehensive data organization effort to gather and house all of the Commonwealth’s known mussel data from 1838 to 2024.

Interactive GIS Experience

A Year in the Field

HUC 8 WATERHSEDS

Organized into chapters for each of the six major basins with area in the Commonwealth, the freshwater mussel plan contains a detailed section for each of Pennsylvania’s 56 HUC 8 watersheds. Within each of these sections, you can explore:

  • Historical and current freshwater mussel data including all known documented records and species diversity, as well as the presence of threatened/endangered and imperiled species
  • A detailed inventory of threats and impacts facing freshwater mussel populations within the watershed, including some impacts described at the stream scale
  • Highlighted conservation stories within the watershed that have benefited freshwater ecosystems
  • Identified priority HUC 10 watersheds for freshwater mussel conservation (see Chapter 3 for background information on priority watersheds)
  • Categorized, action-based recommendations for freshwater mussel conservation intended to specifically benefit freshwater mussel populations within the watershed

Who is this for?

Everyone can access the Pennsylvania Freshwater Mussel Conservation Plan and learn something about these incredible animals. This comprehensive document can be explored by freshwater mussel resource managers and anyone interested in learning about freshwater mussels.

The planning aspect should be utilized by conservation practitioners across Pennsylvania who enact on-the-ground conservation approaches in their respective watersheds. 

The plan prioritizes appropriate actions and recommendations at the watershed and stream level motivated by the potential benefit those actions (i.e., surveying, monitoring, restoration, research) will have on the local freshwater mussel populations in those watersheds. Please explore the online mapping components as well for a closer look at some of Pennsylvania’s overarching freshwater mussel data. 

CONTACT US

Please reach out to us if you want to learn more or have questions, or if you want to share your work in the region, email us at info@paconserve.org.