SAVING THE HELLBENDER

Hellbenders may not be pretty to everyone, but these strictly aquatic salamanders are as interesting as their awesome name implies — and they grow up to 2 feet long and sometimes top 4 pounds, making them the largest North American amphibian species. These living fossils are perfectly adapted for life on river bottoms but must have clean, flowing water to thrive.

Now many of the streams where hellbenders once lived are too polluted to support them. They’ve undergone drastic population declines across their range in the eastern United States and face a long list of serious threats, including habitat destruction and pollution. 

OUR CAMPAIGN

The Center has been working to secure federal protection for hellbenders for years. In 2010 we filed a scientific petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list 404 Southeast aquatic, riparian and wetland species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, including hellbenders. 

Thanks to our work, the Service granted Ozark hellbenders endangered status in 2011 and finally protected Missouri River hellbenders — just one population of eastern hellbenders — in 2021. Since the agency denied protection for other eastern hellbender populations, in 2021 we sued, securing a 2024 deadline for a new decision. The Service finally proposed their protection in December 2024.

Every genetically distinct hellbender population needs protection to survive and recover, including Ohio River hellbenders, Tennessee River hellbenders, and Kanawha River hellbenders.

Check out our press releases to learn more about the Center's actions for hellbenders.