The recent foul weather brought large piles of native mussel shells to the sands of White's Beach.
There are fourteen species of native freshwater mussels in Lake Champlain. The most common being the Eastern Elliptio (Elliptio complanata) and the Eastern Floater (Pyganodon cataracta). Eight other members of the freshwater mussel family found in Lake Champlain are either rare, threatened or endangered.
One of the biggest threats to the native freshwater population is the invasive Zebra Mussel. It can overtake native mussel habitat and can kill off large numbers of native mussels by attaching to their shells.
I am not certain what caused the demise of these mussels. If you look carefully, you can also see snail and periwinkle shells.
