State Officials, Volunteers Search for Water-Quality Clues Through Salamanders

By Joel Frady

In a week-long quest that began on Monday, July 6, state biologists, park rangers and volunteers waded into

the New River in search of Eastern Hellbenders, a type of salamander, in a project with two goals. First, to determine whether the amphibians, which require clean water to survive, are still present in the river and how they can be saved; and secondly, to determine how to improve the overall quality of the water in the river.

Park Ranger Doug Blatny of New River State Park said that Hellbenders, which are native to the mountains and foothills of the eastern United States, typically grow to between two and two-and-a-half feet long and can usually be found under large rocks in rivers.

"They breathe through their skin, so they're very susceptible to pollutants and toxins that are in the river," said Blatny. "Scientists like to use them as an indicator species which tells us if there's something good or bad with the river.

"If the population is up and you've got a healthy population, then you know the creek or river is very clean," he continued.

Courtney Wait, advocacy coordinator for the National Committee for the New River, said that hellbenders are "the things that they would want to see out in the water.

"If you can have these very sensitive organisms," she said, "you'll be able to have the trout" and other marine life that people hope to find when they visit the river.

Since the search for hellbenders began in 2002, however, there have only been 15 documented findings. Blatny and Wait both said that this doesn't mean that the water quality is bad, however, as people have posed a problem for the salamanders.

"The population isn't there really due to people," said Wait, due to "people's misunderstandings and some myths of Hellbenders being bad luck, poisonous [and] eating all the fish. People see these salamanders and have been told some really scary things about them, and will kill them."

Blatny said that the slimy hellbenders can "live to be 25 or 30 years old," and that they typically grow approximately an inch per year. He noted that all the specimens found in the New River have been between 12 and 16 inches long. Both the size and the rarity of the creatures in the river has caused concerns about the water quality, with sediment issues from roads and housing developments believed to cause the biggest problems.

"Usually, you're supposed to find 10 specimens in a 100-yard section," he said. He later added that "by sectioning off the river, if we find a healthy population [at one location] then we can attempt to determine why some parts are healthier than others." Sediment is also an issue for fish populations, since it "covers up their eggs in the fall during mating season" and "falls onto the skin or the bodies of the young."

He noted that pharmaceutical pollutants might also play a factor, as they have been known to lead to deformations in amphibians (such as feminization in male frogs). In the end, one goal is to figure out how "all human-related activities along the river" are effecting both the wildlife and the water quality.

The search will continue all week, and organizers gladly welcome any and all volunteers who would like to help with the search. The search starts at 9 a.m. each day at the Visitor Center of the Highway 221 Access Area for New River State Park, except on Thursday. July 9.

On Thursday, a special salamander workshop will be held beginning at 9 a.m. at the visitor's center. The workshop will be followed by a river search around noon.

In the end, Blatny and Wait said they hope they can find clues on how to protect the hellbender.

"If you're finding these hellbenders, it gives us some more keys on finding ways to protect them," said Wait.

Since the two go hand-in-hand, any clues on how to save the hellbenders will also lead to protecting the quality of the New River for future generations to enjoy.

To find out more about the project, or how to get involved, contact the New River State Park at (336) 982-2587. To find out more about the National Committee for the New River, call (336) 982-6267 or click to www.ncnr.org.