Biologists look for help to protect several mountain species.
Photo Above: About 2,000 Southern Bog Turtles remain
Photo Courtesy of Nathanael Stanek | Turtle Conservancy.
From North America’s biggest salamander to its tiniest turtle, biologists are growing increasingly concerned about the population health of a number of wildlife species found in the Blue Ridge region.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently proposed listing the Eastern hellbender salamander as a federally endangered species throughout its range in 16 states. Known colloquially as snot otter, mud devil, lasagna lizard and other creative appellations, hellbenders can grow to over two feet long, weigh up to five pounds and live up to 30 years. Like many salamanders, hellbenders breathe through their skin, so habitat with cool, clean water is essential for their survival.
Scientists estimate an 80% drop in hellbender population over the past century and suspect that sedimentation from land development as well as other pollution, habitat loss and illegal pet trade are to blame. The salamanders took an especially hard hit from Hurricane Helene which scoured mountain rivers and killed many of them.
Many states with hellbenders have instituted some protections, but the federal endangered listing would go further, prohibiting the “take” of hellbenders which includes harming, harassing (such as removing from the wild) or killing the animals. The listing also mandates that the Fish and Wildlife Service ensures the species’ conservation.
Another creature in decline is the diminutive Southern bog turtle, which measures a mere four inches and can live up to 60 years. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity says the population has dropped 50% in just 25 years, and estimates only 2,000 individuals remain in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
The group petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2022 to list the turtle as endangered. Last November, it sued the agency for delaying. “These tiny turtles are on the brink of extinction, and they need federal protection now,” said Will Harlan with the center. The group is especially concerned that recent legal rulings have weakened protections for the turtle’s mountain wetlands habitat—only 500 acres remain across the five states.
The center’s lawsuit also seeks endangered status for the roughhead shiner, a minnow found only in the upper James River watershed of Virginia that has been on the Fish and Wildlife Service waiting list for protection for 30 years.
As with the hellbender, adding the turtle and shiner to the federal endangered species list would provide a broad safety net of protections to enable these animals to rebound over time—a sign that the health of the ecosystem is improving as well.
The story above first appeared in our March / April 2025 issue.
