It’s easy to nerd out on salamanders if you live in East Tennessee. The state is home to an astonishing number of distinct salamander species − more than 60 or even 70, depending on the source − that range from the tiny pygmy salamander at just over an inch long to the hellbender, which can reach 2 feet.
Locally, Collier Preserve in Powell and Ijams Nature Center are great places to find the adorable amphibians.
But one of the salamanders that makes its home in a Mead’s Quarry cave is in serious danger of extinction. And national environmentalists want the government to rethink its position on saving that rare species, the Berry Creek salamander.
Berry Cave salamanders have feathery pink gills, spend their entire life in caves, and are dependent on clean water. The salamander has been found in just a small number of isolated caves across four Tennessee counties .
Why are environmentalists threatening to sue the federal government on behalf of a salamander?
The Southern Environmental Law Center , on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, has notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it intends to sue over the agency’s denial of Endangered Species Act protections for the rare salamander.