The Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (FMCS) is dedicated to the conservation of and advocacy of freshwater mollusks, North America's most imperiled animals. Membership in the society is open to anyone interested in freshwater mollusks who supports the stated purposes of the Society which are as follows: 1) Advocate conservation of freshwater molluscan resources, 2) Serve as a conduit for information about freshwater mollusks, 3) Promote science-based management of freshwater mollusks, 4) Promote and facilitate education and awareness about freshwater mollusks and their function in freshwater ecosystems, 5) Assist with the facilitation of the National Strategy for the Conservation of Native Freshwater Mussels (Journal of Shellfish Research, 1999, Volume 17, Number 5), and a similar strategy under development for freshwater gastropods.
FMCS Organizational HistoryThe FMCS traces its origins to 1992 when a symposium sponsored by the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, USFWS, Mussel Mitigation Trust, and Tennessee Shell Company brought concerned people to St. Louis, Missouri to discuss the status, conservation, and management of freshwater mussels. This meeting resulted in the formation of a working group to develop the National Strategy for the Conservation of Native Freshwater Mussels and set the ground work for another freshwater mussel symposium. In 1995, the next symposium was also held in St. Louis, and both the 1992 and 1995 symposia had published proceedings. Then in March 1996, the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Research Association (MICRA) formed a mussel committee. It was this committee (National Native Mussel Conservation Committee) whose function it was to implement the National Strategy for the Conservation of Native Freshwater Mussels by organizing a group of state, federal, and academic biologists, along with individuals from the commercial mussel industry.
In March 1998, the NNMCC and attendees of the Conservation, Captive Care and Propagation of Freshwater Mussels Symposium held in Columbus, OH, voted to form the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society. In November 1998, the executive board drafted a society constitution and voted to incorporate the FMCS as a not-for-profit society.
In March 1999, the FMCS held its first symposium "Musseling in on Biodiversity" in Chattanooga, Tennessee, during which the Society By-Laws were voted upon and were formally adopted on June 23, 1999. The symposium attracted 280 attendees; proceedings from that meeting are available for purchase.
The second symposium was held in March 2001 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third in March 2003 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the fourth in St. Paul, Minnesota in May 2005, the fifth in Little Rock, Arkansas in March 2007, the sixth in Baltimore, Maryland in April 2009, and the seventh in Louisville, Kentucky in April 2011. The society also holds workshops on alternating years, and produces a newsletter three times a year.
FMCS Officers for 2023
| PRESIDENT Megan Bradley |
PRESIDENT ELECT Amy Maynard |
SECRETARY Sarah Veselka |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 322 North East Avenue Viroqua, WI 54665 megan_bradley@fws.gov |
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 520 Park Street Neosho, MO 64850 417.451.0554 amy_maynard@fws.gov |
BioSurvey Group PO Box 593, Morgantown, WV 26507 304.282.9493 sarah@biosurveygroup.com |
| PAST PRESIDENT Steve McMurray |
WEBSITE CONTACT Nora Straquadine |
TREASURER Alan Christian |
| Missouri Dept. of Conservation Central Regional Office and Conservation Research Center 3500 East Gans Rd. Columbia, MO 65201-8992 573.815.7900, x. 2925 stephen.mcmurray@mdc.mo.gov |
Stony Brook University 239 Montauk Highway Southampton, NY 11968 nrstraquadine@gmail.com |
Ursinus College 99th E 9th Ave Collegeville, PA 19426 treasurer@molluskconservation.org |