Friend,

Hellbenders are strange and fascinating creatures often referred to as living fossils because they've changed so little over time. Known by such colorful names as "devil dog," "snot otter" and "old lasagna sides," they're North America's largest salamander and maybe its most loved.

But they're also at serious risk of extinction. That's why the Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect them under the Endangered Species Act in 2010 — a case that the agency is now reviewing.

Tell the Service to end its delays and grant hellbenders the protection they desperately need to survive.
 
Many of the streams where hellbenders once lived are too polluted now to support them. They're also threatened by dams and disease. As a result hellbenders are facing drastic declines across their range in the eastern United States and could soon disappear.

Act now to send a letter to the Service and throw this unique salamander a lifeline.