AMPHIBIANS
Biologists Conduct Species Status Assessment for Hellbenders by Lori Williams, Western Amphibian Biologist
I n the first quarter of 2024, Wildlife Diversity staff partici- pated in the second federal Species Status Assessment (SSA) for special concern Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobran- chus a. alleganiensis). The first SSA was conducted in 2017 and did not result in federal protection for the subspecies within its range in the Eastern United States. Currently, only the Ozark Hellbender (C. a. bishopi) and the Ozark disjunct population of Eastern Hellbender are listed under the Endan- gered Species Act. In fall 2023, a lawsuit by environmental organizations and a subsequent court decision, instructed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to redo the 2017 SSA, mainly because of a flaw in how proactive conservation measures were evaluated. The expert panel of state representatives and researchers was reconvened to redo the SSA process. Each state and native tribal land was tasked with evaluating population statuses for individual streams in their jurisdic- tion that have had an Eastern Hellbender record since the year 2000. By far, North Carolina has the most hellbender streams than any other state. We likely have the best of what is left of historical populations. In 2017, we assessed 155 streams, and now in 2024, the number has increased to 179, thanks in large part to the help of anglers, recreationists, and the public for sharing hellbender encounters, some of which reveal new streams. The increase in streams with hellbender presence is
also due in part to continued success of environmental DNA testing to detect new populations in the state. Although North Carolina has more hellbender streams than any other state, the long-term outlook for the species, even here, is not guaranteed. For example, the number of North Carolina hellbender streams where the population is judged to be failing has increased since the 2017 SSA. From 2017 to 2024, the state has seen a 10% increase in the num- ber of streams presumed to have zero hellbenders left (an “extirpated” status) and/or presumed to have so few and iso- lated adults left that breeding is highly unlikely (“function- ally extirpated”). We will continue to assist the USFWS in reviewing the draft SSA report when it’s ready, likely in December 2024.
An important part of the federal Species Status Assessment is population structure, essentially whether all age classes are represented in a population including gilled larva (left; John Groves, 2016); older juveniles and subadults (middle; Steve O’Neil, 2012); and mature adults (right; Lori Williams, 2008).
36 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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