Might as Well be Walking on the Shells

The Olympian is reporting that officials in the city of Olympia, Washington are hoping to get grant funding for a program to grind up the shells of invasive snails and use the paste as a fill for local sidewalks. They think the curved shells will be an excellent alternative to the rocks and gravel typically laid down under sidewalk pavement to hold stormwater runoff. Perhaps you're wondering, what invasive snails does Olympia have in such numbers that they could attempt a project like this? The article doesn't say. Neither do these Olympia City Council minutes (.pdf). Lucky for you, the ISW has gone the extra mile to uncover this information, and with a little help from bugmenot, found the answer in this King5 article. The snail in question is actually the Atlantic slipper snail (Crepidula fornicata), also known as the slipper limpet, a species native to the east coast of the U.S.