Biologists from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Genoa National Fish Hatchery (GNFH), Jordan River National Fish Hatchery, East Lansing Ecological Services Office, and the Alpena National Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (NFWCO) met on Sept. 27, 2007 for a conference call. 

The purpose of the gathering was to bring together US biologists that have been working on Great Lakes mussel issues, especially those affecting the Huron Erie Corridor (HEC), and to provide a forum for discussing recent research findings and future rehabilitation efforts. 

Topics of discussion included new propagation techniques, supplemental stocking, species reintroductions, and relocations of native mussels from areas being impacted by exotic zebra and quagga mussels to Refuge areas free from exotics.

During the call, Tony Brady from the GNFH and Roger Gordon presented examples of innovative propagation techniques that have been successfully used in supplemental stockings or reintroductions of federally listed mussels into tributaries of the Mississippi River. 

Similar to the populations on the Mississippi River system, mussel populations in the HEC and tributaries to the Great Lakes have been declining or have been extirpated from many areas due to the negative effects of exotic zebra and quagga mussels. 

Since the introduction of those exotic mussels in the 1980’s, native mussels have been steadily declining or have been eliminated from many of these areas.  Although zebra mussels do not directly parasitize native mussels, they do attach themselves in large numbers to the shells of the native mussels, thereby preventing mussels from foraging, reproducing, and dispersing their progeny. 

Historical research indicated that Michigan tributaries and the Great Lakes supported a rich diversity of native mussels. 

The goal of this meeting was to bring together all of the key agencies working to restore native mussels so that research gaps could be determined and future research needs identified.  The Alpena NFWCO will continue to enhance existing partnerships and build new partnerships in an effort to solve ongoing resource problems regarding native mussels in an environment of shrinking funding. 

This effort supports the Partnerships and Accountability and Aquatic Species Conservation and Management priorities of the Service’s Fisheries Program Vision for the Future.