WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity today sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to follow through on plans to protect salamander mussels under the Endangered Species Act. The Service also failed to finalize protections for more than 2,000 miles of critical habitat for the mussels.

Salamander mussels once lived in 14 states from Tennessee to Michigan, but they’ve been lost from 66% of their range and roughly 80% of remaining populations are at high risk of disappearing.

“Salamander mussels will slide further toward extinction if the Trump administration continues to stall protections for this remarkable little animal,” said Laurel Jobe, an attorney at the Center. “These mussels filter contaminants from rivers and help keep our water clean. By protecting them, we’re also protecting the health of our communities.”

Salamander mussels are threatened by habitat destruction, water pollution, invasive species and declines in their host species, the mudpuppy salamander. They rely on mudpuppies to disperse their eggs by depositing them into the mudpuppies’ external gills. Salamander mussels are the only known mussel to use a non-fish host to help facilitate reproduction.

In August 2023 the Service proposed to protect the salamander mussel as an endangered species and designate 2,012 river miles of critical habitat across 10 states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Since then, the Service has failed to meet its one year deadline to publish a final rule on the Endangered Species Act protections and critical habitat, prompting today’s lawsuit.

To date, the second Trump administration has not protected a single new species under the Endangered Species Act. It’s the first time an administration has gone a year without protecting any plants or animals since 1981.

Salamander mussels are an elliptical shaped and thin-shelled species growing up to 2 inches long. These mussels thrive in flowing freshwater habitats containing slab rock and bedrock, which allows the mussel to contact a solid surface that provides protection from high-velocity currents.

Freshwater mussels are the most imperiled group of animals in the United States. Of the nearly 300 species in North America, more than 70% are listed as imperiled, with at least 35 species already presumed extinct.