A project to restore endangered Mississippi River mussels is underway.  Environmental contaminant biologists and private lands biologists from the Rock Island, IL Ecological Services Field Office concluded their natural resource damage assessment claim for PCB exposure to mussels and fishes in Pool 15 of the Mississippi River.  The claim was settled with the responsible parties, and the settlement funds will be deposited in the U.S. Department of Interior's Natural Resource Damages Assessment and Restoration Revolving Fund.  The settlement money will be used to design and implement stream restoration projects along local tributaries of the Mississippi River.  These tributaries are used by some fish species for spawning and as nurseries for their young.  The mussels are dependent on fish as hosts to complete their life cycle.  The stream restoration projects will benefit riverine fishes and reduce sedimentation into the Mississippi, both of which will ultimately help recover federally listed mussels species in the river.