A rare freshwater mussel, the Texas hornshell, will now be protected under the Endangered Species Act in response to advocacy from Guardians and allies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will list the mussel as “endangered,” which affords it the strongest protections available under the Act.
The Texas hornshell was once found throughout the Rio Grande drainage in the United States and Mexico, as well as in Mexican Gulf Coast streams. Now, only five known populations of the mussel remain in the United States in New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Poor water quality, low flows, sediment accumulation, predation, barriers in rivers, and climate change all endanger the mussel.
Freshwater mussels are bellwethers for the health of entire river ecosystems. Protecting the hornshell is an important step in protecting and restoring healthy, unfragmented rivers.
Read the press release.
Read more about why the Endangered Species Act matters.
