Conterminous Unites States (US) has the highest diversity of freshwater gastropods (Johnson 2009) and mussels of the family Unionidae (unionids; Williams et al. 1993) in the world. Both groups of mollusks are also distinguished as the most endangered groups of freshwater organisms in the US (Neves et al. 1997, Johnson 2009). Roughly three-quarters of the unionid species in the US are considered at risk (Williams et al. 1993, Strayer 2008), and near half of the gastropod fauna is considered imperiled (Neves et al., 1997). Besides the myriad of well-documented threats to North America’s native mollusks, conservation and management are often hampered by the lack of knowledge about life history and current species distribution and ecology (Strayer 2008, Johnson 2009). Many symposiums have been developed to discuss current conservation efforts for North America’s mollusks, but few have focused on identifying knowledge gaps that might damage future efforts for conservation and management. Our symposium will address that question. What data are needed to ensure gastropod and unionid conservation into the future, and how can that information be obtained? When surveyed, a group of mussel experts participating in a webinar for the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative ranked “lack of information” 4^th out of 11 most important current impairments to unionids.  This symposium will have a traditional AFS platform structure with the organizers inviting a variety of managers and researchers from federal, state, and non-governmental agencies, as well as international scientists. We will invite both mussel and gastropod experts from across the continent, and anticipate high student participation. This symposium is an opportunity to expand AFS participation to mollusk researchers that may not otherwise attend.