The removal of a dam on a North Carolina river will rejuvenate the local ecosystem, WFAE 90.7 reported. And importantly, it will be done without harming the United States' largest salamander, the eastern hellbender.
Local conservation groups will remove the last vestiges of the Shull's Mill Dam from Watauga River in the coming weeks. Ahead of that work, they have relocated eight eastern hellbenders from the area surrounding the dam, where they had made their home.
The hellbender (which, in addition to being the largest salamander in the country, has got to have the most metal name) has seen its population fall by "more than 70% since the 1970s," according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, which added that, "a captive propagation and head-starting program is underway and will hopefully reverse the population declines."
Amphibians, including salamanders, frogs, and toads, are especially susceptible to the effects of human-caused pollution due to their porous skin and sensitivity to rising temperatures (and, of course, all animals are susceptible to habitat loss).
Dam removals have become an increasingly popular way to help river ecosystems thrive. While many dams may have served an important function in the past, most of them are now defunct and now only impede the rivers' natural flow and route. Other dam removal projects have seen fantastic results, such as allowing salmon to spawn again in a river in England, or completely restoring the ecosystem around the river in Ohio.
The removal of the Shull's Mill Dam from Watauga River — the final dam on the river that needed to be removed — is expected to allow for more fish to move through the river and improve water quality. Volunteers will also plant thousands of native plants along the banks to support pollinators and offer shade to the aquatic species that return to the river.
"These dams will never grow back," Erin Singer McCombs, American Rivers' Southeast conservation director, said. "This is permanent good on the landscape."
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