CO-AUTHORS: Shay Keretz (Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia); Sadie Stevens (USDA Forest Service Eastern Region); Wendell Haag (USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station); Deahn Donner (USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station) TITLE: Creating a standardized protocol for mussel surveys in the Great Lakes’ National Forests ABSTRACT: Native, freshwater mussels (i.e., unionids) contribute numerous services to ecosystems—including water filtration, nutrient cycling, and sediment stabilization—but are highly imperiled in North America. In the Great Lakes, coastal wetlands are well-known refuges for unionids and often serve as source populations for surrounding waters. A major barrier to implementing a Great Lakes basin-wide conservation strategy is the lack of information on unionid distributions and health, including on National Forests. National Forests represent ~5% of the land-base in the Great Lakes Basin, but little is known about unionids in these areas due to a set of multifaceted challenges: (1) Lack of a standardized methodology for conducting unionid surveys in National Forests; (2) A massive area to assess (Great Lakes National Forests encompass >3.7 million acres and >7,500 km of rivers); and (3) Lack of clear guidelines and infrastructure to support data access and sharing. We are developing a standardized protocol to assess unionid assemblages and health in the National Forests of the Great Lakes. The protocol will include site selection guidelines that target a diversity of streams, survey methods that cover large areas robustly but efficiently, and methods to survey targeted areas for management activities. This standardization will increase knowledge-sharing among partners and agencies to support monitoring and restoring unionids. We are also working to ensure that these data can be archived into a searchable, public database under development in a large interagency collaborative effort. We are pilot testing our protocol this summer (2026); therefore, we welcome both feedback and input at this stage in our protocol development. BIO: Dr. Rachel Toczydlowski is a Research Scientist with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. She uses a suite of genetic tools to understand where species are on the landscape and how the landscape and management actions influences levels and spatial patterns of genetic diversity. Dr. Toczydlowski works on a diversity of species in terrestrial and freshwater aquatic systems.