Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS): Sonar Data Mapping to Assess Native Mussel Habitat

Hanson, J.L., Strange, J.M., Sattler, S.R., and Hoy, E.E., 2021, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS): Sonar Data Mapping to Assess Native Mussel Habitat: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9BYGUQL.

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The National Park Service's (NPS) Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS) and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (SACN) have established high value habitat corridors for threatened and endangered native mussels, including the Winged Mapleleaf and Higgins’ Eye Pearlymussel. Underwater sonar, a hydroacoustic remote sensing technology, is a valuable tool for mapping physical habitat features in aquatic systems for sedentary biota such as freshwater mussels and has the potential to identify and quantify physical habitat features to inform management decisions. The USGS acquired high-resolution multibeam and sidescan sonar for approximately 115 kilometers of the Mississippi River, 6 kilometers of the Minnesota River, and 48 kilometers of the lower St. Croix River. Additionally, small areas of high-valued mussel habitat had additional data collected, which included acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and underwater videos — to help interpret and map physical habitat characteristics. Bathymetry in the form of a DEM (digital elevation model) will be used for depth measures.

ScienceBase WMS

• Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC)