Hellbenders in trouble: Environmentalists sue to protect giant salamander - AL.com

Five environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over its 2019 decision not to list the eastern hellbender as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The hellbender is a large, fully aquatic salamander, growing to two feet long or more, that was historically found in 15 states, from northern Mississippi and Alabama to New York. The largest salamander in North America, it's a distinctive and odd-looking creature, with ruffled skin on its sides and a slimy coat that led to nicknames including "snot otter," "lasagna lizard," "devil dog" and "Grampus."

Filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Waterkeeper Alliance, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper and Waterkeepers Chesapeake, the lawsuit argues that the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision was "arbitrary and unlawful" because it "failed to rely on the best scientific and commercial data available," according to the lawsuit.

The groups say that nearly 80 percent of eastern hellbender populations have already been lost or are in decline due to dams, industrial and agricultural water pollution, deforestation, construction and development and mining activity.

The Center for Biological Diversity had petitioned for the hellbender to be listed as endangered in 2010. In 2019 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined such protections were not warranted. The lawsuit asks the court to vacate that decision and force the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a new determination.

"The Trump administration's refusal to federally protect eastern hellbenders was scientifically indefensible and unlawful," Daniel E. Estrin, general counsel and advocacy director for Waterkeeper Alliance said in a news release. "These harmless amphibians are suffering the proverbial death by a thousand cuts as a result of myriad human impacts. We must protect this vital species and its aquatic habitat before it's too late."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

In its 2019 determination, the Fish and Wildlife Service said "the stressors acting on the eastern hellbender and its habitat, either singly or in combination, are not of sufficient imminence, intensity, or magnitude" to warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act.

The groups say that the federal decision to not list the species was based in part on human efforts to boost the population, such as building artificial nest boxes and raising and releasing hellbenders in captivity. The groups say those efforts are unproven and the larger threats to hellbender's habitat were not addressed.

"Hellbenders, like humans, need clean water to survive. The hellbender's plight shows that we aren't doing enough to care for our rivers and streams across the eastern United States," Brian Segee, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity said. "We hope this lawsuit will compel the Fish and Wildlife Service to give hellbenders the protections they desperately need to survive."

Hellbenders in Alabama

Jim Godwin, a biologist with the Alabama Natural Heritage Program and Auburn University, has led efforts to search for hellbenders in north Alabama for several years and says they're extremely rare in the state.

"The numbers are likely so low that our populations are likely in trouble," Godwin said.

He said his most recent study found traces of hellbender DNA in water samples collected from a few Tennessee River tributaries but were unable to catch an actual hellbender.

Godwin and collaborator Lesley De Souza found a hellbender in the Flint River in 2015, and he said two fishermen in that river reported sightings in 2021. Godwin said the lack of sightings is a bad sign for the salamander's population numbers in Alabama.

Godwin said one of the biggest ongoing threats to the hellbender in Alabama is sediment pollution. Runoff from human activity muddies free-flowing streams and fills in rocky stream beds with dirt and mud. Godwin said he has seen the impacts of sediment pollution often in his search for hellbenders.

That kind of pollution can be especially bad on construction sites or where deforestation has occurred. Forests and other plant life naturally filter rain water before it reaches streams and rivers.

"What we have seen in sampling is a water quality issue," Godwin said. "Our filters clog [with sediment] and it fills the cracks and crevices that larval hellbenders need to survive."

Godwin said he and other biologists were "kind of surprised" that the agency chose not to list the species.

"It's not surprising that Fish and Wildlife Service is going to be sued over its decision not to list the hellbender," Godwin said.

Indicator species

Hellbenders are often described as an indicator species for their preferred habitat of cool, clear, rocky streams. If the hellbender can survive there, then many other species will too. But when the hellbender starts to disappear, other aquatic species are also likely to feel the impacts.

"When streams are in degraded condition with regard to water quality, it's not just the hellbenders, it's everything else in the water that's suffering," Godwin said.

Hellbenders are nocturnal animals, sleeping under rocks during the day and emerging at night to hunt crayfish, minnows or other smaller salamanders.

The lawsuit states that hellbenders can live for "at least 25-30 years in the wild," and perhaps as long as 50 years. The groups say many of the individuals caught are older animals, with few juveniles or evidence of reproduction. They say this could indicate that the species is not able to reproduce and such populations could be "functionally extirpated."

Godwin said he believes it's not too late for the hellbender, if more steps are taken to preserve its habitat.

"I'd say there's still hope out there if there's some water conservation practices put into place," he said.

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