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Hellbenders Proposed For Endangered Species List

While a slimy species of giant salamander continues disappearing from mountain streams, conservationists hope endangered species protections can help the Eastern hellbender turn the tide toward revival.

Sometimes called snot otters, the Eastern hellbender is an amphibian of unusual size, growing as big as 29 inches, according to a news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They're one of only a few giant salamander species in the world.

An Eastern hellbender sits camouflaged on a streambed. Wildlife officials are proposing listing the hellbender as an endangered species.

Image courtesy Jordy Groffen for Virginia Tech

"They can live up to 30 years and spend their entire lives in water, living in perennial streams and rivers of the eastern and central United States," the press release said. "Hellbenders hide under large, flat rocks on the streambed. Cool and clear water is important because hellbenders breathe through their skin."

Threatened by poor water quality, disease, habitat loss and the pet trade, the hellbender is proposed to join the endangered species list. Wildlife officials on Friday opened a 60-day public comment period about listing the Eastern hellbender as an endangered species throughout its 15-state range, from Alabama to New York, including Southwest Virginia.

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"The eastern hellbender is a unique salamander that plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems," said Will Meeks, a wildlife service director, in the release. "As key indicators of stream and river health, hellbenders need protection that also will help support healthier ecosystems across their range."

Past studies documented 626 populations of Eastern hellbender, the press release said. More recently, researchers found just 371 hellbender populations, most of which are in decline.

At Virginia Tech, an eight-year study led by Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Professor William Hopkins explored what might be causing hellbenders' decades-long decline, according to a news release from the university last year.

"This is an animal that has been resilient over millions and millions of years, and something that we're doing to the planet is severe enough that it's causing them to disappear, and disappear quickly," Hopkins said in the news release. "I feel like we have an obligation to solve this problem."

Hellbender fathers typically guard the eggs of their offspring after they are laid by females on stream bottoms. But sometimes, fathers eat the eggs instead, in a practice known to biologists as filial cannibalism.

The Hopkins-led study found that hellbender fathers are far more likely to eat their entire brood of eggs in deforested areas, compared to streams shaded by lush foliage, the university news release said.

Virginia Tech professor Bill Hopkins holds an Eastern hellbender for measurements. Virginia Tech conducted an eight-year study exploring what might be causing hellbenders' decades-long decline.

Image courtesy Lara Hopkins for Virginia Tech

"Within a couple of years, I started to realize that what was happening with reproduction was really different in bad habitats and good habitats," Hopkins said. "We were immediately seeing this pattern, that males were eating their eggs and that this was more pronounced at these degraded sites."

Researchers wore wetsuits to snorkel frigid mountain streams, setting up hundreds of concrete shelter boxes equipped with cameras. The footage of nesting hellbenders revealed more than expected, according to the university news release.

"We've discovered two parasites new to science that nobody knew existed, one is a leech that we think specializes on hellbenders, and the other is a microscopic blood parasite," Hopkins said. "Potentially we're getting closer and closer to solving this entire mystery, which can lead to solutions."

Endangered status can enable habitat protection efforts and would make it illegal to harm or harass the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, giving conservationists more tools to help hellbender populations.

A hellbender named Stella Salamander the mascot at New River Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit. In a social media post, the conservancy said hellbenders live throughout the New River as it flows from North Carolina through Virginia to West Virginia.

"Populations have been in decline for many years, and thanks to sustained pressure from environmental groups, it may have a chance to rebound," the post said. "With the proposed ruling to place it on the endangered species list, the hellbender has the opportunity, if passed, to receive protections to help populations grow."

Hellbenders are known as a keystone species, meaning their wellbeing indicates the health of their surrounding environment. The Eastern hellbender's midwestern cousins, Ozark hellbenders, were already listed as endangered in 2011.

At the same time U.S. Wildlife officials are considering endangered species protections for the hellbender, the service is also proposing to dedicate critical habitat for four species of endangered freshwater mussels, including some that reside in Southwest Virginia waterways.

"What is good for hellbenders is also good for other aquatic animals like mussels and fish, many of which are also declining," said Hopkins, the Virginia Tech professor. "And of course, better water quality is good for us."

To leave a comment about hellbenders for the wildlife service, go online to www.Regulations.Gov, then search for docket number FWS–R3–ES–2024–0152.

Hellbender Salamander May Soon Get Federal Protection

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Federal Agency Proposes Listing Of Eastern Hellbender As Endangered

Just as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public input on a proposal to list the monarch butterfly as an endangered species, the agency is proposing the same federal protection for another iconic species found in the Twin Tiers: the eastern hellbender.

Eastern hellbenders — a large salamander — are found locally in the Allegheny River and its tributaries as well as other river systems in New York state and Pennsylvania.

The state amphibian for Pennsylvania, the eastern hellbender is also found in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

"The eastern hellbender is a unique salamander that plays a crucial role in maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems," Will Meeks, FWS's Midwest regional director, said in a statement Friday. "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. The FWS said 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.

As recently as 2019, the FWS had held that the hellbender did not warrant status as an endangered species. But in 2023, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York vacated the agency's decision after environmentalists went to court.

Hellbenders are the largest of North America's salamanders, growing up to 29 inches, according to the FWS. They can live up to 30 years and spend their entire lives in water.

Hellbenders hide under large, flat rocks on the streambed. Cool and clear water, such as what flows in streams in the Allegheny Mountain region, is important because hellbenders breathe through their skin, which contains numerous folds to increase oxygen absorption. The primary threats to eastern hellbenders include stream sedimentation, poor water quality, disease, habitat loss and pet trade collection.

The Endangered Species Act prohibits the "take" of species listed as endangered, which includes harming, harassing (such as removing from the wild) or killing the species. The listing also mandates that federal agencies consult with the FWS to ensure the species' conservation.

The proposal to list the eastern hellbender is in the Federal Register, starting a 60-day comment period that runs through Feb. 11. Information on how to submit comments can be found on regulations.Gov by searching docket number FWS–R3–ES–2024–0152.

FWS is also proposing to designate critical habitat for four species of endangered freshwater mussels — the rayed bean, sheepnose, snuffbox and spectaclecase mussels can be found in 17 states in the central and eastern United States, including New York and Pennsylvania.

FWS proposes designating a total of 3,974 river miles, where many of the individual species overlap. The proposal also opens 60-day public comment period that runs through Feb. 11.

Critical habitat is an area that contains essential habitat features for the survival and recovery of species listed under the Endangered Species Act, the FWS said Friday.

Should this rule be finalized, the designation of critical habitat triggers coordination with federal agencies and projects using federal funding. The designation will not affect activities on private lands unless the activity is funded or authorized by a federal agency.

All four mussel species were listed as endangered in 2012 under the ESA, which means they are in danger of extinction. Threats to these mussels include destruction or changes to their riverine habitat, including dam construction and channelization, along with impacts from pollution and invasive species.

The rayed bean is a small mussel, measuring only about 1.5 inches. The rayed bean lives up to 15 years. This species, once found in at least 115 streams, rivers and other waters, now occurs in only 37 streams and one lake in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia, along with Ontario, Canada.

The other three mussel species are not found in New York state waters.

The sheepnose mussel can grow up to 5.5 inches and can live up to 30 years. They once occurred in 79 streams and rivers, including one canal, but are now found in only 22 waterways in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Snuffbox mussels are small, growing to less than 3 inches and living up to 20 years. These mussels once inhabited at least 210 streams, rivers and other waters, but are now known to occur in only 85. Their current range includes Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Ontario.

Spectaclecase mussels occur in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The proposal to designate critical habitat for these four species appears in the Federal Register.

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