This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina.
Andy Hill keeps a wetsuit and snorkel in his car at all times. Sometimes, when he’s driving around Watauga County, North Carolina, he’ll see a particularly clear, swift stream, pull off, suit up, and go looking for an elusive neighbor: the hellbender, a slimy, graceful, and rare salamander widely beloved throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Hellbenders are an iridescent marbled gold and brown when seen underwater, grow to more than 2 feet long, and can live to 30 years old.
For Hill, spotting one isn’t just a curiosity — it’s a moment that borders on spiritual, tied to an animal that many see as part of the region’s identity as much as its ecology.
“The first time that I saw one in real life, in the Watauga River, it changed me,” said Hill, who works as the Watauga riverkeeper for western North Carolina environmental nonprofit MountainTrue. “They’re kind of otherworldly lo... Read more
