This is a fascinating story about a "pearl rush" on freshwater mussels in the Oostanaula River in 1897. At one time the upper Coosa was home to 43 species of mussels. Today, there are only 27, and several of those are federally protected. It is likely that this "pearl rush" contributed to the decimation of mussel populations in the river. Now, mussels can be hard to find, much less mussels with pearls. The article also references accounts from DeSoto's travels in the 1500s in which Native Americans presented him with a six-foot strand of pearls. These accounts make you realize just how much we have lost and just how productive our river systems were before we fouled them up. Coosa River Basin Initiative Coosa River Basin Initiative
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