HARRISBURG, Pa. – A joint effort between federal and state agencies, including the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), has resulted in the successful collection and relocation of approximately 4,000 state and federal endangered northern riffleshell mussels from a site on the Allegheny River along the border of Forest and Venango counties.
The mussels – collected over a two-day period Aug. 21-22 – were expected to be adversely affected by the Hunter Station Bridge replacement project, located along State Route 62 in Tionesta, Forest County. When the project begins, cofferdams and causeways will be constructed in the river and the old bridge will be dropped. These actions would likely have killed thousands of the mussels, but the salvage efforts have been able to save the resource and put it to use in other states. (Photo courtesy Jim Carroll/PennDOT).
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