Thirty-six species have already been lost to extinction.
This new listing may seem trivial, but the listing also means that the rivers in which the mussels live may be the target or protection and restoration, which is good for the local communities and environment.
Excerpt:
In response to a legal victory by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today gave Endangered Species Act protection to a freshwater mussel that lives in Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.
The yellow lance is threatened by pollution from agriculture, logging and urban development, as well as by climate change. There are only seven remaining populations, none of which are considered highly resilient because 86 percent of the streams in the mussel's current range have low, or very low water quality.
"Freshwater mussels are North America's most endangered group of animals, which tells us we have to take better care of our streams and rivers," said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Because the yellow lance is an indicator of water quality, protecting its habitat will directly benefit people, as well as other wildlife that rely on clean rivers."
In North Carolina the yellow lance is found in the Chowan, Neuse and Tar River watersheds. The population in the Tar River in North Carolina is the healthiest remaining population and is estimated to have moderate resiliency. In Virginia the yellow lance is found in the James and Rappahannock River basins, and in Maryland it's found in the Chesapeake River Basin.
When viewed geographically, the species has declined by 70 percent in the Coastal Plain region and by approximately 50 percent in both the Piedmont and the Mountain regions.
