Eastern pondmussel (Ligumia nasuta) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

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Existing protection or other status designations

Ligumia nasuta is listed as secure/apparently secure (G4G5) in North America; its national status is N4N5 in the United States and N2N3 in Canada (NatureServe 2005). It is not currently listed or proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2005), but it is listed as Lower Risk–Near Threatened (LRnt) in North America on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2005). The national general status of freshwater mussels in Canada was completed in 2004, and the Eastern Pondmussel was ranked as 2 (May Be at Risk) nationally and in Ontario (Metcalfe-Smith and Cudmore-Vokey 2004; Wild Species 2005). The species is ranked as S2S3 (imperiled/vulnerable) by Ontario’s Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC 2005). According to NatureServe (2005), current state ranks for L. nasuta are: Connecticut (S1S2), Delaware (S1), District of Columbia (SNR), Maryland (SU), Massachusetts (S3), Michigan (SNR), New Hampshire (S1), New Jersey (S1), New York (S2S3), North Carolina (S1), Ohio (S1S2), Pennsylvania (S1S3), Rhode Island (S1), South Carolina (SNR), Vermont (SNR) and Virginia (S3). Although NatureServe (2005) lists the species as occurring in Vermont and Rhode Island, no county occurrence records are provided. A mussel expert familiar with the unionid fauna of the New England states confirmed that L. nasuta does not occur in these states (Nedeau pers. comm. 2005); thus, the state ranks for Rhode Island and Vermont are not shown in Figure 6. The Eastern Pondmussel is listed as Endangered in Ohio (ODNR 2005) and Delaware (DNREC 2005), Threatened in New Jersey (NJDEP 2005) and North Carolina (NCWRC 2005) and Special Concern in Massachusetts (MDFW 2005) and Connecticut (CDEP 2005) and is therefore afforded some protection in these states. New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina list it as a Species of Conservation Concern but this designation does not provide any protection.

The federal Fisheries Act is an important piece of legislation protecting freshwater mussels and their habitats in Canada because fishes are broadly defined under the Act to include shellfishes. The collection of live mussels in Ontario is considered “fishing” and falls under the Ontario Fishery Regulations made under the Fisheries Act.

The largest known population of Ligumia nasuta in Canada occupies the territorial waters of the Walpole Island First Nation in the delta area of Lake St. Clair. As previously noted, these waters are primarily used for hunting and fishing by the Walpole community and are protected from urban development and certain recreational uses. Special user permits are required to access First Nation territory and waters, which limits human disturbance in the area. The Walpole Island First Nation, in partnership with Environment Canada, has developed a Walpole Island Ecosystem Recovery Strategy, which has the following goal: “to conserve and recover the [prairie, savannah, forest, wetland and open water] ecosystems of Walpole Island Territory in a way that is compliant with the Walpole Island First Nation Environmental Policy Statement and provides opportunities for cultural and economic development and protection and recovery for Canada’s species at risk” (Bowles 2005).