Eastern hellbenders, the giant salamanders that swim in western North Carolina’s waterways, also known as snot otters, devil dogs and lasagna lizards, are at risk of becoming endangered. But the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced a new program to try to change that.
What You Need To Know
- The United States Department of Agriculture started a new program to protect eastern hellbenders
- These salamanders are at risk of extinction because of human activities polluting the waterways in which they live
- Conservationists will be sent to counties in western North Carolina and work with landowners and agricultural producers to help repair hellbender habitat
The service identified 35 counties across three states — North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee — that it will send conservationists to. They will work with landowners and agricultural producers to help repair the hellbender’s aquatic habitat and protect against future damage created by fertilizer runoff and other water contaminants.
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