Displaying items by tag: hellbender conservation

Jonathan Cox (left), wetlands biology technician for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, looks in astonishment at an eastern hellbender captured while monitoring populations in Pisgah National Forest.  Ben Dalton/N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission 

Two-year study will gain insight into hellbender reproduction; special interest in Fontana Reservoir area and its watersheds 

Holly Kays is senior writer for Smokies Life.

GATLINBURG — With wrinkly skin that comes in various shades of brown, eastern hellbenders aren’t easy to spot. These giant salamanders, which average 20 inches in length, spend most of their lives nearly invisible under rocks on the bottom of cool, fast-flowing streams. In a two-year research project starting this summer, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will use a combination of technology and traditional survey techniques to solve the mystery surrounding the hellbender’s distribution in the Smokies.

“One of the major conservation questions is: Are hellbenders reproducing in our streams?” said Jonathan Cox, wetlands biology technician for the park. “And it’s really hard to find that out because their lifespan is so long that you can have a hellbender detected in a stream for multiple decades, but it may be the same individual.”

Hellbenders can live for 30 years or more, so figuring out whether the adults alive today are reproducing successfully is imperative to securing the species’ future. Hellbender populations have declined significantly over recent decades, leading the US Fish and Wildlife Service to propose that the salamander be listed as an endangered species. A public comment period on the listing proposal is open through February 11.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeks public comment on a proposal to place the eastern hellbender on the Endangered Species List. The hellbender seen here is part of an exhibit at an East Tennessee zoo.  Chattanooga Zoo

USFWS seeks public comment on proposed listing of crucial indicator species throughout its known range; several populations in Smokies region

Melissa Clark is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service senior public affairs specialist.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Dec. 12 a proposal to list the eastern hellbender as an endangered species throughout its range under the Endangered Species Act. Eastern hellbenders are found in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

“The eastern hellbender is a unique salamander that plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems,” said Service Midwest Regional Director Will Meeks. “As key indicators of stream and river health, hellbenders need protection that also will help support healthier ecosystems across their range.”

Historically, eastern hellbenders have been documented in 626 populations. Recent data indicate only 371 of these populations (59%) remain. Among the remaining populations, only 45 (12%) are stable, 108 (29%) have an unknown recruitment status, and 218 (59%) are in decline.

The eastern hellbender is one of two subspecies of hellbenders in the United States. The other subspecies, the Ozark hellbender, occurs in Missouri and Arkansas and was listed as an endangered species in 2011. In 2021, the Missouri distinct population segment of the eastern hellbender was listed as endangered.

The species is listed as endangered in the state of Tennessee; zoo heads up years-long conservation effort

This Nashville Zoo blog post is reprinted with permission. 

NASHVILLE — Nashville Zoo’s ectotherm team, in partnership with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Tennessee State University, traveled to a waterway in Middle Tennessee to successfully release a total of 27 eastern hellbender salamanders back into the wild. These hellbenders had been raised since 2018 at the Zoo as part of a headstart program. Since the start of this conservation initiative, the Zoo has released more than 100 hellbenders into local Tennessee streams to help bolster the population of this state-endangered species.

The hellbenders released this year had been raised since 2018 at the Zoo as part of a headstart program, after being collected as eggs from streams in Middle Tennessee. Each animal was fitted with a radio transmitter earlier this year, allowing a team of graduate students to track and monitor the hellbenders throughout the summer. This is the fourth group of hellbenders to be released back into the wild since the summer of 2021.