GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Local crews have wrapped up the mussel relocation project in the Grand River much earlier than expected, allowing the plan to restore the rapids to move forward.
Before any construction could begin, state and federal regulators mandated that the city and Grand Rapids Whitewater needed to collect and relocate the mussels in a key stretch of the river. Over the last several weeks, dive teams searched an area approximately the size of eight football fields to search for and remove mussels.
According to the City of Grand Rapids, recent weather patterns helped crews work faster.
“The project, which began in August, moved at an unprecedented pace and concluded much earlier than initially expected,” the city said in a statement. “The dry weather and low-flow of the river allowed BioSurvey’s teams to substantially accelerate its work from the original mid-October completion estimate.”
Moving mussels a key step to make way for Grand River rapid restoration
A preliminary count shows the dive teams found 38 federally endangered snuffbox mussels, more than 2,000 mussels that are considered threatened or endangered in Michigan and another 6,900 common mussels.