From PennEnvironment (http://www.pennenvironment.org):
It’s official: in April, the state legislature approved a bill to make North America’s largest salamander, the Eastern Hellbender, Pennsylvania’s state amphibian.
And while all Pennsylvanians’ chests should swell with pride by this bipartisan show of support for one of our most interesting native species, the future of the Eastern Hellbender is uncertain.
State officials must now tap into that bipartisan support and implement commonsense protections for the Eastern Hellbender and the species’ habitat—act now at https://pennenvironment.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=32879.
That’s because Eastern Hellbender populations have been decimated by pollution in the clean streams in which they live and encroaching development and deforestation that clogs these same streams with runoff pollution and silt. Some studies show a decline of more than 80% in the species traditional range.
And yet very few steps have been taken to protect the species: both Pennsylvania and U.S. officials have declined to add the Eastern Hellbender to either the state or federal endangered species list.
At the same time, funding for the environmental agencies charged with protecting Pennsylvania’s threatened species and their critical habitat have been slashed, and existing tools that could be used to better protect the Eastern Hellbender’s habitat go unused.
Let’s change that. Tell your elected officials in Harrisburg that we must do more than just put Pennsylvania’s great native species on a proverbial pedestal—they must put the policies in place to ensure the protection and vibrant populations of these species for future generations of Pennsylvania to have pride in, too.
Then, send this to friends and family and ask them to sign-on too.
Whether or not you’ve seen a Hellbender in the wild, consider sharing our great appreciation for the species that are part of what makes our state so amazing.
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