N.C. mussel added to threatened species list
Atlantic pigtoe mussel. Lilibeth Serrano photo
A freshwater mussel known as the Atlantic pigtoe has been added as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act following a process that began when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed the listing in October 2018.
The listing will become effective Dec. 17. The species’ listing also includes protections for habitat designated as critical to its survival. Primary threats to the mussel include pollution, sedimentation and dams.
The mussel is native to rivers of the Atlantic seaboard, and it currently occupies areas of the James, Chowan, Roanoke. Tar, Neuse, Cape Fear and Yadkin-Pee Dee river basins of North Carolina and Virginia. These areas are designated critical habitat — all areas designated as critical habitat are navigable waters held in public trust, and ownership of the riparian land adjacent to it is a mix of private lands and conservation parcels, including easements as well as state-owned lands and parks.
Learn more at fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mussels/atlantic-pigtoe.
