On Jan. 12, Philip Mathias, of Enviro Science Inc., visited West Forest for a presentation on mussels. Students, in fourth and tenth grade, learned about mussel removal from the Allegheny River where the new Hunter Station Bridge is being constructed. In 2015-16, 130,000 mussels were replaced to various waterways in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Of those replaced mussels, over 90,000 were clubshell and northern riffleshell, which are endangered. The students learned how mussel larvae are attached to host fish until old enough to survive by themselves. Future lessons, for these same students, will include trout in local streams and river. The classes have ties to river environment. (Submitted photo)
West Forest students study mussel relocation
