By Simon Conover, Michigan Sea Grant 2026 summer intern, originally posted by the Friends of the St. Clair River
A workday in the field as a biologist is a unique and wonderful experience, one which I was fortunate to take part in for two days in June. As an environmental intern this summer at Friends of the St. Clair River, I feel incredibly rewarded to have this opportunity and more excited than ever to be in this line of work.
My name is Simon Conover, and I’m a current intern for Friends of the St. Clair River. Since I started in May, I have been educating others, helping with volunteer events, restoring local ecosystems, and so much more. When I haven’t been busy pulling invasive plants and assisting with the Sturgeon Festival, I’ve been researching native freshwater mussels. Part of my internship involves assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with surveying mussels in the Black River in Sanilac County. At the end of June, I finally put on my waders and trekked through the river with the USFWS team for the first time.
Photo: Simon Conover
Day 1 started in Deckerville, and I soaked up as much knowledge as possible. After reviewing our survey plan, we waded into the river and got on our hands and knees to “noodle” through the riverbed for mussels. We methodically moved up the river in 30-minute intervals, collecting shells and live specimens by digging through the substrate. After each survey, the mussels were identified, measured, aged, sexed, and tagged if they were a threatened species. They were then carefully returned to the river. We found a few species listed as “special concern” in the state of Michigan such as the Elktoe, Creek Heelsplitter, Flutedshell, and Rainbow. We also found several Slippershells, which are listed as threatened in Michigan.
Photo: Simon Conover
We repeated this three times each day. By Day 2 I was becoming more confident with my identification skills. The last site we surveyed near Carsonville was my favorite of them all. We walked a long distance downstream and there were signs the river had flooded earlier in the season. There were many dead mussel shells littering the riverbank, hinting that we were going to have some good finds. Once we located a good spot, we waded in once more. I found our first kidneyshell species of the week and a beautiful (and quite massive) Threeridge mussel. I also found a creepy old action figure that was missing an arm and both of its legs. Apparently, these sorts of finds are common among mussel biologists, which I think is very amusing! We also found several deer bones submerged in the water and even ran into a fawn on our walk back upstream.
Photo: Simon Conover
The team of volunteers and experts I worked with was fantastic; Jocelynne Samu-Pittard, Haley VanScoyoc, and Miranda Strasburg from Alpena’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, Joe Rathbun, a retired EGLE employee, Alexis Gronda from EGLE, and Dave Dortman from MDOT. I learned so much and heard a lot of hilarious (and some horrifying) stories about their careers and travels. I truly cherished every minute of this field work. When we were in the river, I told them I genuinely dreaded the timer going off and ending our survey; it was all too much fun!
Photo: Simon Conover
I have always had a love for nature, and I knew I wanted to spend my future in this somehow. It feels like this summer has brought my dreams to fruition. This opportunity taught me so much, strengthened my confidence in my career path, and challenged me in thrilling new ways. I am exceedingly thankful to have been a part of this; it’s everything I ever hoped it would be.
Simon is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in ecology. He loves insects, studying lichens, and playing as a mantis-inspired character in his fiancé’s D&D campaign.
Photo: Simon Conover
