IONIA, Mich. (AP) -- Workers on a bridge replacement project in Ionia County must keep an eye out for a freshwater mussel that's on the endangered species list.
The Sentinel-Standard of Ionia reports (http://bit.ly/N03GMs ) the Cleveland Street bridge replacement is planned for next year about 30 miles northwest of Lansing. Officials aren't certain whether the snuffbox mussel is in the Grand River near the bridge, but it's possible. So surveys are planned.
If they're found, the mussels will be moved.
In February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it had granted endangered status to the rayed bean and the snuffbox, which are native to parts of the Midwest and East. Both mussels are found in rivers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and other states. It's illegal to kill or harm them.
AP