MOUNT VERNON — Elusive, devilish and kinda cute — the eastern hellbender made its splash in Mount Vernon on Saturday with Rural Actions’ Hellbender Discovery Day.
The eastern hellbender is an aquatic, giant salamander native to the central and eastern U.S. It can grow up to two feet in length. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to classify the hellbender as an endangered species in 2024.
Hellbender Discovery Day uses the hellbender to educate the public on how to better protect their environment.
Rural Action hosted educational activities at Ariel-Foundation Park in the Schnormeier Event Center. After activities, members of the Rural Action team led guided exploration along the Kokosing River.
‘You have to teach people to respect things.’
Mike Miller, park manager for the Ariel Foundation Conservancy, sees the event as an educational opportunity for kids.
“I know it’s a cliche, but the future is always with kids,” Miller said. “But you have to teach people to respect things.”
He believes the event will teach the youngest attendees an important life lesson.
“Just like the choice was made to rejuvenate this location, the choice has been made to help Hellbenders with reintroduction efforts in the state of Ohio,” Miller said.
Hellbenders are an indicator species, which means their health can act as a reflection of an ecosystems overall condition. The name also immediately catches attention, bringing eyes onto restoration projects.
Rural Actions’ Miranda Hayes, watershed outreach project manager, spoke about the importance of learning about the hellbender.
“The whole focus is to get people outdoors to understand the environment and what kind of water qualities are associated with these beautiful creatures, and how it impacts our lives too,” Hayes said.
Also present at the event was the Knox Soil and Water Conservation District’s mobile education unit. District Program Administrator Rob Clendening educated attendees about the importance of their environment and the surrounding wildlife.
“Soil conservation and resource conservation is really an important thing, because everything that we eat is based in that somehow,” Clendening said.
The event concluded with a group trip to the Kokosing River, to search for micro- and macroinvertebrates.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources classifies the Kokosing River as scenic due to its aquatic diversity and overall health. There are more than 50 species that call the river home, including the hellbender.
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