 Eastern Hellbender
What’s a hellbender?
Hellbenders are large, slimy, four-legged, flat-headed, giant salamanders.
How big is it? The eastern hellbender is one of the largest salamanders in the world, growing to more than two feet in length. Completely aquatic, it feeds mostly on crayfish, but also eats small fish, invertebrates, and other hellbenders. Where does it live? At one time, the eastern hellbender lived throughout the Appalachian Mountains and across the midwestern United States. Today, however, it exists in small pockets of habitat (including the New River) and is restricted to mountainous areas with little human settlement. Why is the hellbender disappearing? Hellbenders survive only in cool, fastflowing, unpolluted streams and rivers with many large rocks and logs for cover and nesting. Over the years, these habitats have become harder and harder to find. RUNOFF OF SEDIMENT from irresponsible agricultural practices, housing developments along streams, poor forestry practices, and roadbuilding is the major culprit polluting hellbender streams. When sediment washes into streams, it covers rocks and aquatic plants and chokes out habitat hellbenders and other stream-dwellers need for survival. Other causes of hellbender decline include the building of dams (because they alter stream habitats), the killing of hellbenders by fishermen, and the overcollection of hellbenders for the pet trade. How can I help? In North Carolina, hellbenders are a species of Special Concern. This means it is against the law to kill them and you can’t catch or possess them without a permit. Hellbenders are non-venomous and pose no threat to humans. If you catch one while fishing, cut the line as close to its mouth as possible or remove the hook with a pair of pliers and release it back into the water. You can also reduce the amount of runoff entering streams by: 1) avoiding disturbing land near streams; 2) leaving vegetative buffers along the banks of streams when you do clear land; 3) installing silt fences to reduce the amount of sediment entering streams; and 4) replanting quickly to stabilize streambanks. New River State Park
More information and videos: http://www.hellbenders.org/
Power Point Presentation click: |
 American Woodcock The American Woodcock, Scolopax minor, is a small chunky shorebird species from North America. It is popularly known as timberdoodle and a well-known game bird.Adults have short pinkish legs and a very long straight bill with an articulated tip. The body is patterned cinnamon on top and a lighter brown underneath. They have large eyes located high in the head, and their visual field is probably the largest of any bird, 360o in the horizontal plane, and 180o in the vertical plane The wings are rounded. Their breeding habitat is wet wooded areas in eastern North America. The northernmost birds migrates to the southern parts of the breeding range in winter. Based on the Christmas Bird Count results, winter concentrations are highest in the northern half of Alabama. Migrating birds' arrival at and departure from the breeding range is highly irregular. In Ohio for example, the earliest birds are seen in February, but the bulk of the population does not arrive until March/April. Birds start to leave for winter by September, but some remain until mid-November. These birds forage by probing in soft soil in thickets, usually well-hidden from sight. They mainly eat earthworms and insects, also plant material. They are crepuscular, being most active at dawn and dusk. The male performs a high spiralling flight during
[1] courtship, generating a [2] twittering Sound as air moves through its wing feathers. These performances occur over open areas near feeding locations at dawn, dusk, and if the light levels are high enough on moonlit nights. The ritual may be repeated as long as four months running - sometimes continuing even after females have already hatched their brood and left the nest. American Woodcocks nest on the ground in an open wooded location. Woodcock young are precocial.
Wikipedia: Power Point Presentation click:
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Welcome......to the New River; possibly one of the oldest in the world.
The New is an American Heritage River and is designated as a National Scenic River.
This site is designed to inform and educate visitors about recreation opportunities and conservation efforts found in the NC New River Area.
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