Nebraskaland

mussels have dropped off. The bass and cages are removed from the pond with the juveniles remaining. These mussels are cultured in the same ponds as fish raised to stock in Nebraska waters. The fish are fed a daily diet of dry, pelletized feed, which fertilizes the ponds and produces algae, phytoplankton, bacteria and other microorganisms that the mussels feed upon. In the fall the ponds are drained, the fish removed and the tedious task of collecting mussels from the pond's mud bottom is completed. While rearing mussels in hatchery ponds is less labor intensive, it doesn't allow biologists as much control or the ability to judge results. Mussels are gathered from all the different rearing systems and placed in submerged baskets containing 500 mussels each. These baskets are stocked in ponds for over-wintering at both the North Platte and Valentine hatcheries to lessen the odds that a catastrophic event could kill the entire cultured population. In 2015, more than 11,400 plain pocketbook mussels were raised. Of these, 6,540 were tagged and in August of 2016, released into rivers where they were historically found: Cache Creek in Holt County, the Elkhorn River in Holt County, Rose Creek in Jefferson County and Shell Creek in Platte County. State- owned areas were used whenever possible, but some stocking was done on private property where landowners were receptive to the program. In 2016, 3,600 plain pocketbooks were raised, using four adults from the Elkhorn River. These mussels, along with over 4,000 left from the 2015 broodstock that have been kept at the hatcheries, are awaiting tagging and release in 2017 and 2018. After working prolonged hours with the mussel project, Sweet has found an admiration and connection toward these organisms: "Their entire life is pretty complex for a simple organism with no real brain, no eyes, one foot and a shell." Looking Ahead After two successful years of rearing the plain pocketbook, another mussel species, the fatmucket (Lampsilis siliquoidea), was added to the propagation program in 2016. The species was once found in the Big Blue, Big Nemaha, Little Nemaha, Lower Platte and Elkhorn Rivers as well as Medicine Creek in the Republican River basin and Logan Creek in the Elkhorn River basin. Biologists have not collected this species since 1981 and believe it may have been extirpated from Nebraska. With no native fatmuckets available in Nebraska, several were obtained from Kansas for broodstock. That was the closest population with the Missouri River drainage that would have the same makeup as fatmuckets native to Nebraska. Releases of 4,000 fatmuckets are scheduled for this summer and fall in the same waters as the pocketbooks so that continued research can be done on both species. Several grants have funded the mussel projects. A Competitive State Wildlife Grant was procured from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last summer. This grant is a collaborative effort to conserve at-risk mussels across state borders and is a partnership with Iowa. The states work on propagation techniques, share broodstock when needed and work together on stream inventory and restoration. The grant will be 46 NEBRASKAland • APRIL 2017 Glochidia can be seen on a host fish's gills shortly after they attach. The glochidia are the small, opaque-looking dots.

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