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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.
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.
The conservation service offers free technical and financial assistance to make these changes.
Efforts to help hellbenders could also benefit other species that share their habitat, including the bog turtle, Appalachian elktoe and brook trout.
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Caroline King
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