Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for July–September 2025
Surveys for the Eastern Hellbender in the Nolichucky Sub-basin During the First Breeding Season Post-Hurricane Helene
by Lori Williams, Western Region, Amphibians
I n the third quarter of 2025, staff, collaborators, and volun- teers continued fieldwork to assess Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) populations post-Hurricane Helene. We conducted snorkel surveys with dive lights during the hellbender breeding season from late August through mid-September. Much of the effort focused on the hardest-hit drainages from Helene, such as the Nolichucky River sub-ba- sin in Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery counties, where teams con- ducted 17 surveys at 15 sites. As predicted, throughout the drainage, crews witnessed an unprecedented level of habitat loss and degradation from flooding, as well as evidence of additional damage to rock shelters, streambeds, and riparian zones from heavy machinery in debris removal activities. However, in some positive news, our teams successfully documented hellbenders in 13 of the 17 surveys and counted 79 animals total across four Nolichucky drainages. Hellbender eggs and evidence of breeding activity were seen in several surveys. In the three surveys that had zero hellbenders, severe habitat destruction was very prevalent at those sites. Numbers of hellbenders were low compared to years of previous surveys at some of the same sites, but we now know that at least some portion of the hellbender population in the upper Nolichucky drainage survived the flood and devasta- tion. These surviving animals will be critical for natural recolonization of other damaged stream reaches if suitable habitat remains or if stream restoration occurs in the future. We are now collecting water samples for eDNA analysis to assess hellbender presence in parts of the Nolichucky sub-ba- sin that were not surveyed by snorkeling, so we can get a more comprehensive understanding of hellbender popula- tions post-Helene.
An adult Eastern Hellbender on the river bottom during breeding season; scarring on the head suggests this individual has engaged in breeding activities (e.g., fights with other hellbenders) in the past.
CLIFTON AVERY/NCWRC
BEN DALTON/NCWRC
Above: A male Eastern Hellbender in breeding season (a.k.a., a “den master”) on guard at the edge of his nest rock. Below: An Eastern Hellbender “den master” male lower left; head protruding guarding his nest rock with a partial string of eggs dislodged.
CLIFTON AVERY/NCWRC
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