Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Restoration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Muncie Sanitary District hears White River biology update; bureau plans release of kidneyshell mussels
Summary
Fisheries biologist Drew Holloway told the board the bureau found a third live kidneyshell mussel, will release 52 propagated kidneyshells with Indiana DNR, and reported strong fish and invertebrate monitoring results including a 2025 IBI of 53 and 13,090 fish sampled.
Drew Holloway, fisheries biologist with the Bureau of Water Quality, told the Muncie Sanitary District on June 24 that long-term biological monitoring shows continuing ecological improvement on the White River and outlined near-term restoration actions.
"We found our third live kidneyshell mussel in the West Fork White River," Holloway said, describing a species the team had not expected to find locally. He told commissioners the bureau will release 52 propagated kidneyshell mussels in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as part of species recovery efforts.
Holloway reviewed multi-year field work: a 2024 30-mile mussel survey that sampled 53,765 mussels and identified 19 species; in 2025 the bureau sampled 54 fish sites, recorded 13,090 individual fish and observed 57 species during the season. He reported an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score of 53 out of 60 for his fish sampling — a score he described as "excellent" — and noted the broader White River and tributaries in the Muncie area contain 65 recorded fish species.
He also said the bureau released 236 fantail darters this spring to support mussel propagation: fantail darters act as host fish during a juvenile mussel parasitic phase, which is necessary for successful mussel reproduction. Holloway emphasized that mussel propagation and fish-host restoration work together to aid both species recovery and water-quality functions; he pointed out that an adult mussel can filter as much as 15 gallons of water per day.
Commissioners praised the presentation and asked questions about site-specific work (including planned actions at Till Pond) and opportunities for commissioners to participate in sampling. Holloway invited board members and other interested parties to join field sampling.
The bureau's updates underscore ongoing monitoring and an active restoration program that combines field surveys, propagation and partner coordination; the planned release with Indiana DNR is scheduled within the next month according to Holloway's presentation.
