The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to extend protection to an amphibian native to Columbiana County streams and considered by some to be a living fossil.

In response to more than a decade of advocacy by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, the Wildlife Service today proposed to protect eastern hellbenders as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

The proposal would extend protection to hellbenders from New York to Georgia, filling in the gaps in previous listings and meaning that all hellbenders are now slated for protection.

In March 2023, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, working on environmental concerns following the East Palestine derailment found two healthy hellbender salamanders in North Fork Little Beaver Creek.

One hellbender found was estimated to be 7 years old, and the other was a juvenile. Both were released back into North Fork Little Beaver Creek.

Eastern Hellbenders once ranged throughout 23 counties in Ohio, mostly in the southern and eastern portions of the state in the Ohio River drainage basin.

Since 1989, hellbenders have only been recorded in seven Ohio counties. From 1985 to 2009, surveys revealed that the statewide hellbender population declined by 82 percent. Similar declines have been noted throughout their range.

The hellbender is Ohio’s largest amphibian, and some may live more than 60 years.

Hellbenders are considered an "indicator species" because their presence or absence in a body of water is an indicator of the health of the ecosystem. Hellbenders can only survive in cool, clean water.

“I literally burst into happy tears when I heard that hellbenders were finally going to get the Endangered Species Act protection they need to recover. Hellbenders may be cold and slimy, but they’re so fascinating that they evoke warm and fuzzy feelings,” said Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center. “Protecting these giant salamanders will give umbrella safeguards to thousands of other species that rely on clean rivers.”

In 2010 the Center and allies petitioned the Service seeking protection for eastern hellbenders. In 2021 hellbenders from the Missouri River gained protection, but range-wide protections were denied. The Center and allies challenged the denial and a court ordered the Service to redo its analysis, leading to Thursday’s proposal.

Hellbenders face threats from activities that degrade water quality. Throughout their 15-state range only 12% of populations are stable and successfully reproducing.

The range of eastern hellbenders includes Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Hurricane Helene devastated populations in the healthiest part of their range in North Carolina and Tennessee. Clean-up volunteers found dried out hellbenders that were carried out of the rivers during the torrential floods. Forest damage and contamination from the storm continue to pollute these areas.

At 2 feet long and topping 4 pounds, hellbenders are the largest salamanders in North America. Their closest relatives are the giant salamanders of Japan and China.

They are considered living fossils because they have changed little over the last 160 million years.

The Endangered Species Act is a tool to prevent extinction and help vulnerable species recover. It’s 99% effective at preventing species under their protection from going extinct.