Sometimes it seems that there is a project on iNaturalist for just about everything. If you don’t believe me, ask Kathy McCormack. Kathy let a number of the Berry Springs Park amphibian watch team (people not afraid to get their feet wet) know that the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) would be lowering the water level in Lake LBJ and Lake Marble Falls at the end of December. According to the LCRA “[t]he lakes are being lowered as a community service to allow property owners and residents affected by recent flooding an opportunity to repair property, maintain infrastructure and remove debris.”* Kathy recognized that it would also be the perfect opportunity to perform a survey of freshwater mussels.
The Texas Mussel Watch** is one of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Nature Trackers projects and iNaturalist is the method for reporting. The purpose of the project is to improve “understanding of the distribution and status” of freshwater mussels in Texas where 15 (of the more than 50 species located in the state) species are listed as threatened at the state level.
Our plan was to check for and identify mussels in as many locations as we could in parks along Lake Marble Falls and Lake LBJ. We noted the presence of Asian 
Clams and looked for signs of Zebra Mussels. Ultimately we walked the shores of two public parks and one private location (with permission). In addition to observing five (5) different species of native freshwater mussels (Giant Floater, Tampico Pearlymussel, Fragile Papershell, Southern Mapleleaf, and Threeridge), we found Asian clams at each location and NO SIGN of Zebra Mussels at any of the parks. We might have been a small team, but Marsha May, formerly of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and now retired, graciously answered our texts, reviewed our photos, and assisted in the identification of individual shells when we were “not quite sure.”
The full report can be found here: https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/k_mccormack/21654-
freshwater-mussels-of-texas-report-12jan2019***
Personal note: I will admit that I had no knowledge of mussels other than regularly observing shells and valves when hiking along waterways. I had no idea there were so many different species in Texas. I was not sure what help I might be (all the species looked the same when I studied the handbook), but once we started (and I began to learn the terminology) it became easier and easier to recognize a species.It was ridiculously exciting to find different shells. The mussels were fascinating, we got to play in the mud, and, even though the day was cold and blustery, we were joined by a number of bird species – a raft of American Coots, Great Egrets, Canada Geese, a Belted Kingfisher, a White Pelican, and many more. It was a great day.
NOTES:
*https://www.lcra.org/about/newsroom/news-releases/Pages/LCRA-to-lower-lakes-LBJ-Marble-Falls-beginning-Sunday.aspx
**https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/mussel/
***Well, it is almost complete. I still have to finish reporting all of my observations and add them to Kathy’s journal post.
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