Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Hellbenders are only found in the Blue River watershed region of Indiana. Historically they had a much larger range, but the population dropped drastically due to pollution and other factors. There are only a few hundred hellbenders left in the state, so conservation is very important. Several organizations, such as Purdue university and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, are working on research and conservation of hellbenders as well as outreach to the public. Purdue has a captive rearing program for hellbenders and also performs research on hellbenders and how to improve conservation efforts. Several zoos in the state are working with Purdue in order to establish more captive rearing programs for hellbenders. 

Purdue University also is heavily involved in hellbender extension and outreach, including this website, educational videos, and other literature.also participates in these education and outreach programs. Events, such as "Help the Hellbender Day", in which the Columbian park zoo hosted games and private tours of their hellbender facilities, and Purdue university brought informational booth and activities. Purdue also attends local community programs like the Master Gardener Fair, in which Purdue set up an informational booth and provided flyers and brochures about hellbender conservation and water quality. and community nature programs are held often in order to educate the public about hellbender conservation.  The Purdue Student Chapter of Environmental Education (SCEE) is also heavily involved in hellbender outreach. SCEE participates in community nature programs and school visits in order to encourage healthy water habits.

Meet Herbie

Herbie is the mascot of the hellbender conservation movement in Indiana, although he's much bigger and much softer than a typical hellbender. Herbie can be seen at Purdue events like Help the Hellbender Day greeting all of the visitors. He loves spreading the word about hellbenders, meeting new people, and eating lots of crayfish. If you see him out and about, be sure to say hi! You can also get a picture with Herbie and post it to instagram or facebook with the hashtag  #herbie or #helpthehellbender.

Research

At Purdue University, Dr. Williams and his lab are dedicated to hellbender research, with several graduate students focusing on different projects and several publications over the last few years. Additional information can be found at the Williams lab website. A list of publications by the Williams lab can be found here.

Erin Kenison is a PhD student whose research focuses on advancing eastern hellbender head-starting techniques to increase the effectiveness of reintroduction-based conservation efforts for remaining populations. Drastic declines in hellbender populations have been observed nationwide and no evidence of recruitment has been documented in populations in Indiana for two decades. Moreover, very little is known about larval habitat use, behavior, movement, or reasons for their absence within the state. The objective of my doctoral work is to increase post-release survival of juveniles through novel captive-rearing methods. Specifically, she will investigate larval responses to a variety of natural conditions and stimuli presented in the laboratory while increasing understanding of the ecology and natural history of the species. In addition, She completed my Master's research at Montana State University where she studied the nonconsumptive effects of introduced trout, stocked for recreational angling, on native long-toed salamanders. Both of these projects match my broader interests in larval amphibian growth and development, predator-prey interactions, anthropogenic influences on aquatic communities, and amphibian conservation.

 

Former Students

Bart Kraus is a masters student with research  focused on the spatial ecology and survivorship of translocated and resident eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) in the Blue River, IN. Recent population declines throughout their range have prompted concern about the persistence of this species. Indiana’s eastern hellbender population has been restricted to the Blue River, located within one of the southernmost watersheds in the state. Previous telemetry research suggests individuals are scattered throughout the river and/or are spatially isolated from one another. He hopes to increase local hellbender population densities using translocations. He will then determine their home range, both temporally and spatially, and dispersal distances (of translocated individuals) in order to help determine the feasibility of hellbender translocations. Additionally, he would like to estimate the survivorship of both translocated and resident hellbender to determine translocation success and to inform state management agencies when deciding on the future conservation efforts for this species.

Kentucky

Mississippi

Missouri

​Conservation Headquarters
2901 W. Truman Blvd., Jefferson City, MO 65109
Phone: 573-751-4115
Fax: 573-751-4467

New York

North Carolina

April 23, 2022: Spring Fling Festival, Andrews, NC (appearance by Rocky)

July 15, 2022: Private outreach with NC teachers, Pisgah National Forest, NC (appearance by Rocky)

Ohio

1. Support conservation efforts in areas where viable populations currently exist;
2. Increase the use of existing conservation programs to protect hellbender habitat;
3. Investigate the feasibility of a repatriation/augmentation program for hellbenders in Ohio; and,
4. Continue to conduct mark-recapture surveys to monitor populations, collect demographic and growth data, and provide on-the-ground outreach and early detection of potential threats.

The Ohio Hellbender Partnership consists of representatives of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, several Ohio Zoos (Columbus Zoo, the Wilds, Toledo Zoo, Akron Zoo), the Ohio EPA, local soil and water conservation districts, and college/university researchers and students. We have been meeting regularly since the completion of statewide surveys to discuss strategies for reversing the decline of the hellbender in Ohio.

Pennsylvania​

Trinity College
Environmental Science Program and Department of Biology​
300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106

Hellbender Contact:
Peter J. Petokas, Ph.D., Research Associate
Clean Water Institute and Department of Biology
Lycoming College
One College Place
Williamsport, PA 17701
Office: 570-321-4006
Mobile: 570-606-6017
Email: petokas@lycoming.edu

Tennessee

Virginia

West Virginia