Support the proposed endangered species designation for the Eastern Hellbender

The recent proposal by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to list the hellbender as an endangered species is good news.  With this designation, the hellbender can receive the protection it needs to rebound.  The proposal comes with a 60 day comment period, which began on December 13, 2024 and will run through February 11, 2025.

Eastern Hellbenders are an aquatic species that prefer clear, fast-flowing, well-oxygenated streams and rivers.  Because of hellbenders’ preference for clean streams and rivers, their presence serves as an excellent indicator of good water quality.  Hellbenders are super sensitive to silt, sedimentation and water pollution. Because of this, they are considered biological indicators of water quality. As the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) puts it, “if there is a healthy hellbender population in a stream, there is clean water.”

The New River Conservancy is urging citizens throughout the watershed and beyond to comment their support for the endangered species designation before the deadline of February 10, 2025.

To read the proposal from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, visit https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-12/proposal-list-eastern-hellbender-endangered

To comment visit https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FWS-R3-ES-2024-0152-0001

Photo courtesy The Orianne Society