Introduction to the
FMCS
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 History
The FMCS traces it's 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 it's first symposium "Musseling in on
Biodiversity" in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 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, and the fifth in Little Rock, Arkansas in March 2007.
The society also holds workshops on alternating years, and produces a newsletter three
times a year.
FMCS Officers for 2008
|
President |
President
Elect |
Secretary |
|
Treasurer |
Past President |
FMCS
Standing Committee Chairs for 2006 - 2008
Freshwater Mollusk
Conservation Society 
25 April 2008