By Rick Steelhammer, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After a decade of legal maneuvering, the eastern hellbender, a salamander known to reside in a number of cool, clear West Virginia streams, is now being proposed for Endangered Species Act protection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In 2010, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and a coalition of conservation groups petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to seek endangered species status for the salamander, once known to exist in 626 populations spread through West Virginia and 14 other eastern and midwestern states.
A public comment period on the proposal to list the eastern hellbender as an endangered species is underway now through Feb. 11.
