Mobile Mussel Propagation Trailer
Nearly two-thirds of North America’s freshwater mussel species are endangered, extinct, or imperiled. Maryland is no exception: 14 of the state’s 16 mussel species are rare, threatened, or endangered. Their reduced abundance has been attributed to habitat alteration, water quality degradation, and lack of host fish. While water and habitat quality have improved in some areas, many populations have become so reduced that natural resource agencies must captively propagate mussels to help recover their natural populations. Enter the
Mobile Mussel Propagation Trailer.
In 2023, biologists with the Department’s Resource Assessment Service designed and furnished a custom-built 48-foot mobile propagation lab to propagate freshwater mussels. The overarching goal of the trailer is to produce mussels quickly and locally, so they can eventually be stocked in the Susquehanna River. The retrofitted racecar trailer is equipped with everything biologists need to successfully produce juvenile mussels. To date, the mobile lab has transformed 83,000 mussels and educated around 280 visitors to Susquehanna State Park over the three seasons it has been in operation. Come see it in action from March to May or October to December.
