Benthic Ghosts (Cimarex Energy Barrier, New Mexico) & (Black River Management Area, New Mexico)
I am popenaias popeii, the last native freshwater mussel in New Mexico. I now only survive in a small 9 mile stretch of the Black River, surrounded by oil extraction fields and suffocating in pollution. I can no longer spread due to damming initiatives. I am critically endangered and as I'm suffering, so is my river.