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One man's quest for a rare shellfish

November 3, 2025 · 24 min

Show notes

(Jessica Cornelison / KCUR 89.3)

Trevor Starks is on a mission. He wants to help the humble but powerful creatures that clean the waters of the Neosho River: freshwater mussels. For decades, their populations dwindled due to overharvesting, pollution and dam construction. To right the wrongs of the past, Trevor and his colleagues are releasing rare mussels by the hundreds. Now, the only thing left is to find out if it worked.

This episode was written, reported, produced and mixed by Celia Llopis-Jepsen. Up From Dust's editors are Mackenzie Martin and Stephen Koranda.

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