SHORELINES

On a steamy July morning, along a quiet stretch of the Tallapoosa River north of Wedowee, a small team of biologists from Alabama Power and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) eyed the fast-moving water. e prior day's rain had turned the river murky – not the best circumstances to search for an elusive and threatened species of freshwater mussel. Conditions were better the prior morning, when the team scoured a 4-mile section of the Little Tallapoosa River, to the north. During that day's survey, biologists found freshwater mussels – but not the one they were seeking: the finelined pocketbook. A year ago, federal wildlife officials worked with multiple partners, including Alabama Power, and a private landowner to remove an old mill dam on the Tallapoosa. For nearly a century, the 100-foot-wide dam affected the river habitat and impeded the finelined pocketbook and its preferred "host fish," black bass, from moving up and down the waterway. e pocketbook can be found in the upper reaches of the Tallapoosa watershed and in other isolated locations in Alabama rivers that flow toward Mobile and the Gulf of Mexico, but it is not known to exist at this time in the sections of the Tallapoosa where the team is now searching. Alabama is rich in aquatic life and ranks at the top of the list for mussel diversity, with 182 species reported over the course of state history. But over the past 150 years, habitat destruction, construction of river dams, polluted runoff and other factors have led to a serious decline in the population of finelined pocketbook and other mussels across the Southeast. Removal of the old Howle and Turner Dam was one reason to expand the search for the finelined pocketbook in the Tallapoosa. e survey is also part of the ongoing process of relicensing Alabama Power's Harris Dam, located farther downriver. In order to support restoration of mussels and other species, federal officials designated stretches of select waterways in the Mobile River Basin, including portions of the Tallapoosa, as "critical habitat" for the finelined pocketbook and other freshwater mollusks. e designation is helping drive a coordinated effort to manage and improve conditions that allow for the success of the species. Mussels are considered a "keystone" or indicator species – essentially a gauge for the health of creeks and rivers. Mussels need good water quality to survive, and their absence can indicate water quality issues. Jeff Baker, a biologist at Alabama Power, is among the team on the lookout for the finelined pocketbook along with state conservation experts, in coordination with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and others. e ongoing survey on sections of the Tallapoosa and Little Tallapoosa, in addition to several smaller tributaries, will help inform efforts to protect the mussels and, hopefully, help expand their population. 21 apcshorelines.com

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