Federal agency begins work to restore New Mexico's last native mussel near Carlsbad
Adrian Hedden
New Mexico’s only surviving native mussel lives in a small stretch of the Black River outside of Carlsbad.
Its struggles to survive can also mean diminishing quality and quantity of the waters that flow through southeast New Mexico, also providing for local ranchers.
Efforts to save the Texas hornshell mussel, which was federally listed as endangered in 2018, along with its habitat continued last week as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a recovery plan that would see the agency act to, it hoped, prevent the species from dying out.
The hornshell is a freshwater mollusk that can grow up to 5 inches long and can live up to 15 years.
They historically lived throughout the Pecos River System, per a report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Rio Grande.
In recent years, the agency reported the hornshell declined in population, and now only occupies small areas of the Black River along the ranch lands of southern Eddy County.
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There were also scattered populations found in southwest Texas along the state’s southern border to Mexico.
Today throughout both states, the hornshell was believed to only occupy about 15 percent of its historical range.
To save the mussel, the recovery plan called for efforts to improve water quality along its habitat.
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The plan was not a regulatory requirement but intended to guide the Fish and Wildlife Service’s recovery efforts, potentially leading to its future removal from the endangered species list and preventing extinction.
It contained projects needed to recover the species, along with criteria to remove it from the endangered list or lower its status to “threatened.”
Per the plan, “down-listing,” or lowering the hornshell’s status, will be considered when six healthy, separate stream populations are known to exist and show evidence of stability or growth for 45 years, while it could be removed from protections completely if seven such populations were known to occur.
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“The recovery strategy primarily focuses on habitat restoration and preservation and is predicated on an increased understanding of the relationship of the Texas hornshell mussel life history requirements with the physical, chemical, and ecological conditions of their environments,” the plan read.
“Texas hornshell recovery will involve cooperation among federal, state, and local agencies, private landowners, academia, and other stakeholders.”
Regional Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service Amy Lueders said the agency also worked to develop the plan with land management organizations and government entities like the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Bureau of Land Management and Carlsbad-based conservation group the Center of Excellence (CEHMM).
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“These efforts will benefit the hornshell and the communities that depend on the streams and rivers the hornshell calls home,” Lueders said.
Alisa Ogden is one of those stakeholders.
Here family first homesteaded and began ranching in an area south of Carlsbad along Old Cavern Highway in the 1890s.
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The Black River runs through the ranch, and Ogden said government programs and restrictions to agriculture were unlikely to make a difference in the hornshell’s survival.
She said its numbers are dependent on available water, which can fluctuate dramatically in the drought-stricken region.
“Frankly, I don’t think man can do a whole lot to help the hornshell without making it rain,” Ogden said. “The hornshelll has been around for a long time, and its population goes up and down based on the amount of water we have.”
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Ogden said people swimming in the river is more of a detriment on the hornshell than watering cattle, as litter and other human impacts can degrade water quality.
“If they want to limit the impact on the river, they should keep people out of the river,” she said. “Livestock has been grazing on the river since the 1800. Limiting the ability of livestock to drink from the river would not impact the species.”
Ranchers like Ogden often work with conservationists on projects to control erosion which can bring sediment into the river and affect its quality.
She ranchers pride themselves as stewards of the land they depend on.
“I think it’s more about controlling private land and what people can do with their land,” she said of government regulations related to the hornshell. “Really, I don’t think you can do anything to help the species other than keeping the water from being contaminated.
“No one wants the water to be contaminated. We’re always trying to do what we can to improve the watershed for everyone.”
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.