Asheville – The Buncombe County Commissioners voted to support a resolution “expressing their full and unwavering support” for listing hellbenders as an endangered species. Copies of the resolution were to be sent to Representative Chuck Edwards and Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis.
The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) is a large salamander known by many other names, including mudpuppy and snot otter. Because it breathes through its skin, it thrives in cool, clear streams and lakes with rocky bottoms. While amphibious, some can spend their entire lives in water. It takes about six years for hellbenders to mature, and they can live up to 30 years. They typically grow to 20 inches long, though some can reach closer to 30 inches. Their favorite foods include crawfish and other small fish.
Commissioner Parker Sloan, who spearheaded the resolution, said, “They’re a really cool creature.” He noted that at one time, 626 groups of eastern hellbenders had been identified in Southern Appalachian waters. While nobody seemed to know how many salamanders were in each group, the number of groups declined by 41%, with only 12% of those remaining deemed stable.
That was before Hurricane Helene silted the waters, washing these “homebody” creatures out from under their rocks and carrying them to parts unknown. Reports indicated that groups of as many as 100 were found dead after the waters receded. As the hurricane struck “in the middle” of the salamanders’ breeding season, untold numbers of nests of eggs were swept away.
Now that the silt has settled and concentrations of pollutants are returning to baseline levels, the mud-caked riverbanks, devoid of vegetative roots to anchor the soil, will continue to leave the salamanders’ habitats vulnerable to silting and erosion. Felled trees have opened cool spots to sunlight, and rocky habitats have been remodeled, if not buried or washed out. The extent of the damage is still unknown, and it could take years for some habitats to recover at a natural rate.
The resolution stated in part, “Buncombe County views the Endangered Species Act and the listing of species as key to the preservation of biodiversity across the country and believes in its core purpose.” After discussing how Helene exacerbated the decline of the hellbender population, the resolution noted that its habitat “will require governmental investment and intervention to repair and stabilize.” Then, in a surprising anthropocentric twist, the resolution asserted it was the commission’s “duty to express its full and unwavering support … so we can preserve this important species for future generations.”
Mountain True’s Resilient Forests Director Josh Kelly was the only member of the public to speak before the commissioners on this topic. After discussing the plight of the hellbender, he said, “Our WNC waters are very important and special to everyone in the region, for drinking water, for recreation, for our spiritual well-being—many of us were baptized in those streams. Protecting the hellbender is just an emblem of our commitment to those waters, and not only that, but our commitment to the future.”
The Center for Biological Diversity first petitioned the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the listing in 2010. The application was rejected after nine years of review as unwarranted. The USFWS was then sued by five riverkeeper organizations, which argued that the decision was “arbitrary and unlawful” and not based on “the best scientific and commercial data available.” This led a federal judge to void the USFWS decision in 2023, prompting the USFWS to open a public comment period for reconsideration of the matter on December 12, 2024.
Before Helene struck, the hellbenders’ habitat was already being compromised by silting from development, off-road vehicle activity, gravel mining, and other natural disasters. Pollutants were washing into the rivers, and the salamanders themselves were being fished, collected, and “persecuted.” If this attempt to list proves successful, it would prohibit the “taking” and killing of eastern hellbenders and guarantee that federal funds would flow into the region. Federal, state, and private funds would become available to support projects like dam removal and the revegetation and ongoing maintenance of riverbanks. They would also be allocated for capturing these cool creatures and nurturing them in a safe environment for eventual release back into the wild.