And another from the Kansas City Infozine, that CNAH just distributed:

NEWS RELEASE
The Center for North American Herpetology
Lawrence, Kansas
http://www.cnah.org
11 July 2005
Kansas City Infozine (Missouri)
by Jim Low

Beleaguered Salamanders Now Plagued by Deformities

Jefferson City, Mo. - Pity the Hellbender. For years, its numbers have been
dwindling in the face of indiscriminate killing, illegal collecting, and changes
in the
streams it inhabits. Even its love life has been affected. Now it faces a new
tribulation, physical deformities. What's an amphibian to do? This one is
getting
help from the conservation agencies.

Missouri is the only state that has both Hellbender subspecies [considered by
most modern-day herpetologists to be distinct species] - Ozark and Eastern. To
the average person, they are indistinguishable. Both are endangered in Missouri.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is building a case for giving both federal
endangered status. As recently as the 1960s, the Show-Me State had thriving
populations of both varieties. The Eastern Hellbender still inhabits Meramec,
Big,
Gasconade, Big Piney and Niangua rivers and the Osage Fork of the Osage River.
The Ozark Hellbender lives in the Current, Jacks Fork and Eleven Point rivers,
the
North Fork of the White River and Bryant Creek. However, since the 1970s,
Eastern Hellbender numbers have plummeted 80 percent. During the same
period, Ozark Hellbender numbers have declined by 70 percent.

One of the biggest sources of concern about Hellbenders is the failure of recent

surveys to discover young specimens or other signs of reproduction. The
species has practically disappeared from the streams it used to inhabit in
Arkansas. No single factor is known to have caused these precipitous declines.
Dam building took a toll as reservoirs covered cold, fast-moving waters that
hellbenders require. Gravel mining in streams and other human activity on nearby

land allowed gravel and mud to smother more of their habitat. Declining water
quality may have played a role, too. Hellbenders absorb oxygen--and anything
else
in the water--through their skin. Their extra sensitivity to pollution makes
them
a "canary in the coal mine" for water quality.

Increasing recreational use of the streams where Hellbenders live also has
increased pressure on the species. Anglers who accidentally hook Hellbenders
sometimes kill them unintentionally. The quadrupling of canoe traffic on some
rivers increases disturbance of the rocky bottoms of Ozark streams. No one
knows how this might be affecting the big amphibians. Deliberate damage is a
problem. Illegal collection for food and medicine in overseas markets and for
the
pet trade has decimated Hellbender numbers in some rivers. In other areas,
dozens of Hellbenders have been found dead on stream banks, apparent victims
of human ignorance.

Part of the Hellbender's problem is its appearance. They have wrinkled, mottled

skin that varies from gray to brown. Tiny, dark eyes peer from the tops of their

heads. They are huge compared to most salamanders. Adult Hellbenders are one
to two feet long. Jeff Briggler, [state herpetologist] for the Missouri
Department of Conservation, sums up their overall appearance, saying,
"They're
kind of gross." Their unlovely appearance has led to all sorts of
misconceptions.
The most damaging is the mistaken belief that Hellbenders have "poison
spurs"
on their legs and can inflict dangerous wounds. With such folk tales making the

rounds, it's no wonder that some anglers kill the Hellbenders they catch.
Briggler
frequently sees mutilated specimens with wounds from fish gigs or fishing lines

trailing from their mouths. The rationale often used to justify killing snapping

turtles and other aquatic predators - that they eat game fish - won't work for
Hellbenders. Their diet consists almost entirely of crayfish, minnows and other

small animals. Besides, there are so few Hellbenders, they couldn't possibly
have
a significant effect on fish numbers.

Briggler said it is impossible to mistake a Hellbender for a fish. He says he
suspects some are killed by people who want to see what they are but are afraid

to touch them. "I know they look weird," said Briggler, "but they
are harmless.
There is no good reason to kill them."

For most animals, losses of this kind would not be a problem. But Hellbenders
already are scarce, and they don't seem to be producing young. If the adults
currently living in Missouri streams die without reproducing, the species could
be
lost to the state. As if all this were not enough, now Hellbenders must contend

with what could be the final insult - physical deformities. Briggler says an
alarming number of Hellbenders he has seen in recent years have misshapen
toes, legs or eyes. Some are missing appendages. Others have tumors or other
abnormalities. The severity of the problem varies from stream to stream. In the

Current River, three-quarters of all Hellbenders have some kind of deformity.
"This animal already has so much against it right now," said Briggler.
"These
abnormalities could be the end of them."

The Conservation Department and the Fish and Wildlife Service have brought
together other conservation agencies, universities and public zoos to form the
Ozark Hellbender Working Group. Together, they are pursuing a bevy of projects
to pinpoint the causes of Hellbender decline and reverse it. The public has an
important role to play in one of those efforts-population monitoring. "At
this
point, every sighting is important," said Briggler. "If an angler
hooks one and
releases it, or if a gigger sees one, we would like to know about it. That kind
of
information is extremely helpful for keeping track of where these animals still

live. I can't tell you how grateful we are to people who take time to call in
such
sightings." He urged anyone who sees a Hellbender to call him at
573/522-4115,
ext. 3201. Several facts will help him make the most of each Hellbender report.

Most important is location. He suggests looking for landmarks, such as barns,
bluffs or other permanent features. He also needs to know the date of the
sighting and the approximate length of the hellbender. Photographs are helpful
if
they can be taken without keeping the animal out of the water more than a few
seconds. Anglers who hook Hellbenders can release them two ways. Removing
the hook is best if the animal is not hooked deeply. Otherwise, the line should
be
cut and the hook left in place. Most animals released this way survive.

Besides studying Hellbenders intensively and investigating possible contributing

factors in their decline, the Ozark Hellbender Working Group is trying to
develop
a captive breeding program. Young hellbenders raised at zoos or fish hatcheries

could be used in research or to replenish wild stocks. "I am afraid that
without
artificial propagation the Hellbender may not survive here," said
Briggler.

I think the Ozark Hellbender should be our state amphibian instead of the Bullfrog. Maybe the average Schmoe would appreciate the Hellbender more and know more about the need for its conservation if it were our state amphibian.

The Missouri legislature really laid an egg when it let some school kids choose the bullfrog as our state amphibian.

Wayne...With your status as an instructor at the university, why don't you start an appeal to that decision? I would do what I could to help, as I am sure many others would. You make a very good point that bringing the Hellbender to the state amphibian status would create much awareness to its needs. Get something going!

Good suggestion, Chad. I'll look into it.