1970’s and 1980’s - Natural Heritage Network

The Nature Conservancy in 1970 began a biological inventory of the U.S., increasing the importance of science in the Conservancy’s land-acquisition strategy. This effort led to the creation of a Natural Heritage Network, a comprehensive database of information about species and natural communities in all 50 states. The methodology later became the national standard adopted by the federal government, states, universities and other conservation groups.

One place where this scientific approach has made a difference is Virginia’s Clinch River Valley, where a Nature Conservancy study found only 45 freshwater mussel species remaining of the 60 that once flourished there, 29 of which are considered globally rare and eight of which are endangered in the U.S. These mussels filter pollution from their waters and are a major food source for wildlife like muskrat, raccoon, waterfowl and game fish. But more significantly for humans, mussels—some of which live as long as 60 years—can be studied to review water quality during their lifetimes, serving as a bellwether for people dependent on their waters.

During the subsequent years, The Nature Conservancy’s Clinch Valley Program has worked with individuals, businesses, public agencies and communities throughout the 2,200-square-mile watersheds of the Clinch, Powell, and Holston Rivers of southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee to preserve these important aquatic animals. In addition, the conservancy is planning to culture certain mussel species and reintroduce them.