In case you missed it, good news was reported recently by the Allegheny Group’s Endangered Species Action Team (ESA). Last month, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission listed the Salamander Mussel, a species found in the Allegheny River, as an endangered species. Last April, two other mussels native to the Allegheny River were added to the endangered list: the Snuffbox Sheepnose and Rabbitsfoot. According to the Commission’s website, endangered means “species in imminent danger of extinction or extirpation throughout their range in Pennsylvania”. The fate of the remaining mussel species, the Rayed Bean Mussel, could be decided by the Commissioners’ vote in December.

The listing of the Salamander Mussel was due in part to the active campaign conducted by our Endangered Species Action Team. As reported on the ESA section of this website, members of the Team traveled to Harrisburg in October to testify before the Commission.

At present the ESA is focusing on an issue much further north than the Allegheny River - protection of polar bears in the Arctic. Although conservationists are lauding the Dept. of Interior’s proposal to set aside 200,000 square miles of Alaskan coastal areas for polar bear critical habitat, much more widespread protection of the polar bear’s habitat will be gained by passage of a strong Climate Change bill.