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Eel release in Pine Creek to help water quality
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| Ron Comstock, front, president of the Pine Creek Headwaters Protection Group, and another participant release young American eels into Pine Creek on Friday, May 22. The eels are prime hosts for fresh water mussels, which researchers hope will soon repopulate the creek and filter out sediment, a key part of their diet. |
by Kelly Stemcosky
kstemcosky@tiogapublishing.com
About 100 American eels were released into Pine Creek on Friday, May 22.
According to William Lellis, chief of the Northern Appalachian Research Lab in Wellsboro, the eels are an excellent host for freshwater mussels, which this area is lacking.
He said the team at the research lab, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior, spent over 10 years compiling research on the fresh water mussel and why this area was deprived of them.
In a presentation given just before the release, Lellis said mussels are key components in fresh water because “They have powerful filters… and will filter anything that’s there.”
Lellis said the research team also studied Delaware River, finding that the approximately 281 million mussels in those waters remove about 78 tons of sediment per day. Lellis said this could happen in Pine Creek some day.
According to William Lellis, chief of the Northern Appalachian Research Lab in Wellsboro, the eels are an excellent host for freshwater mussels, which this area is lacking.
He said the team at the research lab, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior, spent over 10 years compiling research on the fresh water mussel and why this area was deprived of them.
In a presentation given just before the release, Lellis said mussels are key components in fresh water because “They have powerful filters… and will filter anything that’s there.”
Lellis said the research team also studied Delaware River, finding that the approximately 281 million mussels in those waters remove about 78 tons of sediment per day. Lellis said this could happen in Pine Creek some day.
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| Great Strides walk to be held in Wellsboro June 13 |
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