The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announces the availability of the draft recovery plan for the Altamaha spinymussel (Elliptio spinosa), a mussel found in the Ocmulgee, Altamaha and Ohoopee Rivers in Georgia. The mussel was federally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2011. The species is assigned a recovery priority of five, indicating the species faces a high degree of threat and a low recovery potential. 

This draft plan includes specific criteria for determining when the Altamaha spinymussel should be considered for delisting, removing it from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. It also lists site-specific actions that will be necessary to meet those criteria and estimates the time and costs required for implementing actions necessary to achieve recovery. The draft recovery plan for the mussel is now available at the following website:

https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/6920 

The Service’s vision for recovery of the Altamaha spinymussel includes having multiple healthy populations with robust structure and strong distribution across its historical range. Recovery will depend on thorough research regarding the species ecology, health, and life history. We will also study innovative approaches to propagate and reintroduce the species and explore ways to improve water quality. Full recovery means the species is no longer in danger of extinction.

To promote and support the conservation and survival of endangered species and threatened species, and provide a transparent path to achieving recovery, the Service and our partners develop and implement recovery plans. Recovery plans are unique to each species and serve as central organizing tools. These plans provide important guidance on methods of minimizing threats to listed species, such as restoring and acquiring habitat, removing introduced predators or invasive species , conducting surveys, monitoring individual populations, and breeding species in captivity and releasing them into their historical range. Recovery plans identify measurable and objective criteria against which progress towards recovery of a species can be tracked over time. Recovery plans are guidance and not regulatory documents, and no agency or entity is required by the ESA to implement actions in a recovery plan.  

For more information on the Altamaha spinymussel, visit the Service’s Species Profile below or contact Peter Maholland at peter_maholland@fws.gov.

Altamaha Spinymussel Species Profile

Original source can be found here.