Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership is a voluntary affiliation of stakeholders drawn by our interest in freshwater mussels to:
- Advance and promote Conservation & Restoration; and,
- Evaluate Water Quality best management practices (BMPs) to lessen excess nutrients and sediment in tributaries to the Bay.
Interest in freshwater mussels throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed is growing and for good reasons, such as:
- Freshwater mussels are among North America’s and the Bay Region’s most endangered group of organisms
- Freshwater mussels have unique life strategies linked to individual fish species
- Much like benthic macroinvertebrates, freshwater mussels are indicators of existing water quality conditions in a stream
- As they feed, freshwater mussels transfer suspended matter from the water column to the stream bed
- Freshwater mussels are ecosystem engineers, capable of modifying aquatic habitat to make conditions more suitable for themselves and other organisms


Sampling for freshwater mussels in Susquehanna River below Conowingo Dam
News & Announcements
Watershed Alliance of York Newsletter: Freshwater Mussel Survey
October 12, 2023
Video: Partnership members survey mussels in Lower Susquehanna this summer
September 18, 2023
Meetings & Events Calendar
NFWF Announcement
11/13/23Congratulations to 4 mussel-related projects awarded as 2023 recipients of the Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense (WILD) Grants!
Partnership Steering Committee
11/14/231-2 pm (invitation only)
Partnership Virtual Meeting
12/5/231-2:30 pm (all are welcome)
Click Here on 12/5/23 to Join Meeting Via Zoom
Partnership Steering Committee Meeting
1/26/248-9 am (invitation only)
Partnership Steering Committee Meeting 2024 Schedule:
4th Friday of every month8-9 am (invitation only)
Workshop Announcement
March 4-7, 2024: Auburn, AlabamaFreshwater Mollusk Conservation Society 2024 Workshop: Environmental Tolerance and Ecophysiology Techniques: click here for more information
Archives
May Partnership MeetingMay 25, 2023
Workshop to Broaden and Enhance Regional Freshwater Mussel Partnerships in the Chesapeake Bay
April 13, 2023
Mussels as Natural Filters Committee
February 28, 2023
Mussels Biodiversity Conservation Committee
February 14, 2023
Incorporating Freshwater Mussels into the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts
March 5-6, 2020
Get Involved!
Connect with the Partnership
Benefits include: join our mailing list and stay informed about Partnership initiatives, support an Action Team, meet and network with colleagues, attend our annual Symposium
About Us
The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Region Freshwater Mussel Partnership evolved mainly from the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Science & Technical Advisory Committee workshop (March 5-6, 2020): Incorporating Freshwater Mussels into the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Efforts and the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and state of Maryland’s workshop (April 13, 2022): Broaden and Enhance Regional Freshwater Mussel Partnerships in the Chesapeake Bay.
In 2023, staff from the Susquehanna River Basin Commission transitioned to the role of coordinators for the Regional Freshwater Mussel Partnership. As coordinators, SRBC staff: facilitate communication among the Partnership members, Action Teams, and Steering Committees and with pertinent elements of the Chesapeake Bay Program; schedule Partnership Steering Committee meetings; coordinate an Annual Symposium; and manage resources and information for this web page.
Contact
For more information or questions, please email:
- Jamie Shallenberger ([email protected])
- Ellyn Campbell ([email protected])
- Tyler Shenk ([email protected])
Monitoring & Protection Program
Susquehanna River Basin Commission
4423 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110
717-238-0423 X 1115
Partners
For more information about Freshwater Mussels visit our Partnership agency web sites:
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
Department of Energy & Environment
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality