AMPHIBIANS
Saving Hellbenders is All in a Dam Day’s Work by Lori Williams, Western Amphibian Biologist
A highlight of the second quarter was the effort by Wildlife Diversity staff and project partners, Appalachian State University, Mountain- True, and American Rivers to scuba dive in a deep pool at the base of the 100+ year-old, derelict, Shulls Mill dam in the Watauga River (Watauga County, NC) scheduled to be taken down this summer. Removing the remnant dam, which was breached in the 1940s in a massive flood and is a growing safety hazard to this day, will help restore connectivity for aquatic species, among other benefits. Our objective, however, was to catch Eastern Hellbenders ( Cryptobran- chus a. alleganiensis ), a state Special Concern species, directly in harm’s way of the demolition work, give them a unique identifying, internal PIT tag (like a microchip), and release them in suitable habitat downstream. Other partners not already mentioned, including Wildland Engineering and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, designed a plan to safely deal with many feet of sediment that had built up behind the structure over decades and to remove the dam piece by piece. Work began at the end of June and was to last for a few weeks. As for the resident Hellbenders that were at risk, the scuba team was able to rescue eight, seven of whom were adults who will, hopefully, breed and nest in their new section of the river and continue contributing to the population for generations to come. Post-removal, we will have a lot of monitoring work to do to see how Hellbenders, other species, and even the river itself, respond to their new life without a barrier. Several reporters and media outlets were present for the Hellbender surveys, and there are a number of articles, videos, and audio clips online about the project. For example, two that feature Wildlife Diversity staff, particularly technician Ben Dalton who was part of the scuba team are: https://www.wfae.org/energy-environment/2024-06-27/n-c-biologists- mount-search-and-rescue-operation-for-americas-largest-salamander- before-dam-removal; and, https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04072024 north-carolina-hellbenders-threatened-by-climate-change/
LORI WILLIAMS/NCWRC
BEN DALTON/NCWRC
Top: Part of the old Shulls Mill dam with scuba divers at the base preparing to submerge to look for Eastern Hellbenders. Andy Hill (MountainTrue) scuba dives with a light in search of Eastern Hellbenders below the old Shulls Mill dam. Bottom: One of the first adult Eastern Hellbenders rescued from the base of the old Shulls Mill dam before its demolition, in June 2024, Watauga County.
MOUNTAIN TRUE
39 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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