Thousands of animals nationwide are approaching endangered status, but lawmakers in Congress are working on legislation that would put significant federal funding behind restoring their dwindling populations.

What You Need To Know

  • Thousands of animals nationwide are approaching endangered status, but lawmakers in Congress are working on legislation that would put significant federal funding behind restoring their dwindling populations

  • The legislation, known as the Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2023, would provide $1.4 billion in funding aimed at conserving more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of assistance, as well as give Tribal nations $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation

  • The bill would provide $1.4 billion in funding aimed at conserving more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of assistance, as well as give Tribal nations $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation and accelerate the recovery of roughly 1,600 U.S. species under the Endangered Species Act

The legislation, known as the Recovering America's Wildlife Act of 2023, would provide $1.4 billion in funding aimed at conserving more than 12,000 species of wildlife and plants in need of assistance, as well as give Tribal nations $97.5 million annually to fund proactive wildlife conservation. Additionally, it would accelerate the recovery of roughly 1,600 U.S. species under the Endangered Species Act.

One such animal that would benefit from the bill is the hellbender, also known as a hellbender salamander. The hellbender is the largest salamander in North America, growing up to three feet long, and lives in in rivers in the eastern part of the United States, under rocks.

It's rare to find them in the wild, not only because they are nocturnal, but also because rivers aren't as clean as they once were, leading to a declining population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as a vulnerable species, though some states, like North Carolina, list the hellbender as endangered.

Dustin Smith, a curator at the North Carolina Zoo, says that the species is in peril. 

"We know the populations are declining in North Carolina by as much as 50% just in the last ten or so years," Smith told Spectrum News. 

That's why the hellbender, sometimes called a "snot otter," is considered a species of special concern in the state, one at risk of becoming endangered. 

"There's very little funding dedicated to species of greater concern or nongame species," said Tim Gestwicki, CEO of the North Carolina Wildlife Foundation.

Gestwicki says federal money is needed for habitat conservation and other protection measures that help keep animals off the endangered species list.

Last month, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican, and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, introduced the Recovering America's Wildlife Act to do just that. 

In North Carolina, for example, the state's Wildlife Resources Commission says that would mean helping to restore nearly 500 nongame fish and wildlife species, including the Carolina northern flying squirrel, the pine barren tree frog, the state frog, the painted bunting and the hellbender.

"We will be able to protect ecosystems, restore species, we'll be able to deal with water quality," Gestwicki told Spectrum News.

Smith hopes the legislation will bring that stress down to a less "slimy" level.

"It's not just about saving just hellbenders, the goal here is to preserve the environment, and the ecosystem, because that's going to help the species that live in them, and it's going to help us long-term," he added.