Climate Change
In North Carolina, Eastern Hellbenders Are a Species of Concern, Threatened by the Vagaries of Climate Change
Snorkeling scientists search for the elusive giant salamanders so they might live another day elsewhere on the Watauga River before an old dam is removed.
WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C.—Ben Dalton broke the glassy surface of the Watauga River, spit out his mouthpiece and gasped for breath. All morning, Dalton, a state wildlife biologist, and two other snorkelers had been scouring the river bed, trying to rescue as many eastern hellbenders as they could.