Helping Cheat Mountain salamanders in West Virginia’s Canaan Valley

Cheat mountain salamanders, less than five inches long, can be found during the day under rocks and logs, or in rock crevices below the ground. At night, especially during rainy weather, they forage on the forest floor and occasionally climb trees or plants. Credit: Kent Mason

The Cheat Mountain salamander (Plethodon nettingi), a threatened species that is unique to West Virginia, may have a shot at recovery, thanks to conservation efforts that are iunderway at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

One of two vertebrates native only to the Mountain State, Cheat Mountain salamanders are found only on Cheat Mountain and nearby mountaintops with mixed spruce stands. One of the primary threats to the species is the loss and degradation of its high elevation red spruce and northern hardwood forest habitat. The salamander was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1989 after much of the red spruce forest stands that this species depends on was lost to logging and forest fire.

Check out other stories of endangered plant and animal conservation in the Northeast – We’re sharing them throughout the year!

“Originally, the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge was covered in red spruce and balsam fir,” says Marquette Crockett, a wildlife biologist at the refuge. “After most of the conifer forest was logged, the organic soils burned. This changed the entire ecosystem, and mostly hardwoods came back.”

The four-inch-long salamanders are primarily active on humid evenings, when they search for insects to eat. Despite living for approximately 20 years, the salamanders rarely venture farther than their territories, which are around 48 square feet. Perhaps the biggest threat to Cheat Mountain salamanders…Finish reading this story at our endangered species website!

Marquette Crockett, refuge wildlife biologist, during a night survey to capture Cheat Mountain salamanders. The data is used to determine the population on the refuge. Credit: Kent Mason

Service staff, volunteers from the local community and The Nature Conservancy during a a night survey to capture Cheat Mountain salamanders. The data is used to determine the population on the refuge. Credit: Kent Mason

Harvesting homes for wildlife at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

At Brave Boat Harbor and Upper Wells, trees had grown too mature to provide habitat for cottontails. Their leafy crowns cut off sunlight, causing ground-covering food plants to die off. Leaving plenty of other middle-aged forest, trees were harvested on less than 5 percent of the forest as part of an effort to manage young forest across 25 acres. The area is now growing into a dense thicket and becoming great habitat for cottontails and other wildlife, such as gray catbird, a type of shrubland bird. Credit: USFWS

Today you’re hearing from writer Charles Fergus, who manages www.newenglandcottontail.org, www.youngforest.org, and www.timberdoodle.org for the Wildlife Management Institute.

Saws whined and trees thumped the ground as loggers harvested oaks and pines.

Using shovels, digging bars, and plenty of elbow grease, volunteers planted native shrubs in old fields of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine.

These efforts are creating much-needed young forest homes in the Pine Tree State for the rare New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) and a host of other wild creatures, from tiny flycatchers to furtive bobcats.

The New England cottontail once thrived in the brushy thickets along rivers and coastlines, and was also abundant as abandoned farms grew into young forest in the early to mid-20th century. Then, increased development and reforestation caused the rabbit’s population to plummet as the thick habitat it needed became increasingly rare. Now, the New England cottontail is a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act, and is already protected as endangered by the State of Maine.

New England cottontails aren’t easy to photograph. This photo was taken just after the rabbit was released by biologists. It was raised in captivity as part of our program to conserve the species. Credit: USFWS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, with support from the Defenders of Wildlife Volunteer Corps and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, manages almost 100 acres (40 hectares) of habitat for the rabbit. Work takes place in the Brave Boat Harbor Division and Upper Wells Division in York County, as well as in the Spurwink River Division in Cumberland County.

Planting these native shrubs helps create habitat for the New England cottontail, which uses thickets, young forest and shrubland for its home. These young forests are generally less than 25 years old. Credit: USFWS

At Brave Boat Harbor and Upper Wells, trees had grown too mature to provide suitable habitat for the cottontail—their leafy crowns cut off sunlight, causing ground-covering food plants to die off. Leaving plenty of other middle-aged forest, trees were harvested on less than five percent of the forest as part of an effort to manage young forest across 25 acres (10 ha). The area is now growing into a dense thicket, which is ideal habitat for the cottontail which needs places to hide from and escape predatory birds.

“Most people don’t tolerate natural processes that historically created shrubland, like fire and beaver-created floods,” says Kelly Boland, Maine’s New England cottontail restoration coordinator. “If we don’t replace these natural processes, we will lose those critters that need shrublands to live, including the New England cottontail.”

To add habitat next to the cleared trees, volunteers planted native shrubs including juniper, staghorn sumac, Virginia rose, and three kinds of dogwood. …Keep reading this story!

Check out our endangered species infographic!

Download a PDF or high-resolution version of this infographic.

Did you miss our ESA anniversary posts?

• Happy 40th, Endangered Species Act!
• Snails need love, too (an “ode” to the less cuddly of our endangered wildlife)