Restoring the Eas PILOT PROJECT HELPS REINTRODUCE EASTERN HELLBENDERS TO RIVER BASIN
Surrounded by posters and other informational resources on a large wall of a rural New York laboratory, a homemade 3-inch-square framed cross-stitch suggests that hellbenders are simply “less furry kittens.” It is a simple metaphor suggesting a not- so-simple truth. Perhaps if hellbenders were furry and purred for attention, then maybe their dire situation as a species would garner more headlines, efforts for advocacy and the necessary changes to restore their habitat and save our state’s largest amphibian from impending doom. “In 15 years of studying the hellbender, we had one major population within the greater watershed disappear virtually before our eyes with really no understanding of why that happened,” said Dr. Peter Petokas, a research associate with the Clean Water Institute at Lycoming College, during an April interview on the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcast. “And then another population was wiped out by a sodium hydroxide spill back in 2006 when a rail car overturned next to a tributary.” Petokas also estimated that 95 percent of the species’ habitat in the Susquehanna watershed no longer exists. Hellbenders require clean, cool water with large rock structures that aren’t impacted by excessive sedimentation/erosion issues. They also respirate directly through their
skin, so they are highly susceptible to contaminants that enter the water. That vulnerability provides an important litmus test for water quality. “It’s sort of like the canary in the coal mine, but for water quality,” said Petokas during his podcast episode. “They prefer fairly large streams with clean water that have a stable food chain and an abundance of crayfish. They require waterways with large rocks – like rocks the size of cars – and those rocks must be kept clean. Fine sediment in the waterway can bury those rocks. Habitat is critical for this creature, and if it is present, it is an indicator of clean water conditions.” In addition, the Eastern hellbender is extremely unique. It is the largest amphibian within our country, ranging upwards of two feet in length – the
next largest amphibian, the mudpuppy, is lucky to reach 10-12 inches. The hellbender is also significant because its closest living relatives are the world’s two largest salamander species – both found only in Asia. Despite all this, most people know very little about the species. Based on looks – and unfortunate nicknames such as snot otter, mud devil, Allegheny alligator and old lasagna sides – alone, rallying resources for a rescue effort may not seem like a priority. Hellbenders are blotchy brown in coloration, with some darker splotching scattered throughout. They look fairly flat and wide, partially due to the excess wrinkly skin along the sides that resembles the edges of lasagna noodles.
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