Articles tagged: mussels
East Texas Rivers Could Become a Boiling Pot for Mussels
The humble bivalves may not look like much, but they act as crucial natural filters across the state's waterways—and they're severely threatened by climate change.
Where the Sabine River becomes shin-deep about 20 minutes north of Tyler, three biologists dismount midstream from a narrow metal boat. Lance Williams, a profes...Read More
Trump’s Border Wall Could Decimate These Rare Species
Shallow Waters Shallow Waters is a nine-part series on border water and climate change. Part 3 Trump’s Border Wall Could Decimate These Rare Species From ...Read More
As Development Transforms the Hill Country, a Sand Mining Operation Worries Residents
A local dispute over a company’s proposal to dredge 900,000 tons of river sand is the latest sign of rampant growth in the Hill Country.
Nowhere else on the planet is quite like the Texas Hill Country. The 17-county region is home to more than a dozen endangered species and the largest bat colony...Read More
Unpublished Federal Report Projects Bleak Future for Central Texas Mussels and Rivers
Without any conservation measures, four species are “extremely vulnerable” to extinction, according to a draft Fish and Wildlife Service report.
If the state’s population continues to balloon and climate change worsens, four Central Texas mussels could face near-certain extinction, according to an inte...Read More
How the Fate of Texas’ Endangered Mussels Could Affect Water Usage Statewide
The designation could have significant consequences for people, farmers and companies along the Rio Grande and holds clues for how listing other rare mussels would change water use in Texas.
The Texas hornshell, a freshwater mussel found in crevices and boulder outcroppings of the Rio Grande, isn’t much to look at. While it can be easily mistaken ...Read More
Endangered Science
Can Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar oversee objective scientific research into rare species? Or is he rigging the process to keep them off the endangered list, as his critics charge?
Lars Letaru From the looks of them, it’s hard to imagine that the smooth pimpleback, the Texas fawnsfoot or the Texas fatmucket could threaten the Texas econo...Read More