The Shenandoah Salamander

Shenandoah salamander. Photo by Rob and Ann Simpson

The Shenandoah salamander is a woodland salamander, which has adapted to life at higher elevations away from water. This sparkling rarity lives among the dry leaves, cracked logs, and stony hillocks on the highest peaks of Shenandoah National Park.

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‘Extinction is Forever’ 

painting of smooth purple coneflower, Northern long-eared bat, Guyandotte River crayfish, Roanoke logperch, and yellow lance mussel

Conservationists are concerned about the Trump administration’s attacks on the Endangered Species Act. From the Eastern hellbender to the Carolina northern flying squirrel, many of Appalachia’s most beloved creatures and plants could be at increased risk.

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‘King of the Darters’ Removed from Endangered Species List 

Roanoke logperch swimming in a stream

The Roanoke logperch, a striking, large freshwater fish found in a handful of watersheds in Virginia and North Carolina, is no longer on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list. It’s a sign of the fish population’s improvement. But some individuals and environmental and conservation organizations see its removal from Endangered Species Act protections — rather than moving from “endangered” to “threatened” status — as premature.

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Lawsuit filed to save imperiled Appalachian species from coal mining

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 8, 2023 CONTACT Perrin de Jong, Center for Biological Diversity, [email protected] Dan Radmacher, Appalachian Voices, [email protected] CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Center for Biological Diversity and Appalachian Voices today sued the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to protect highly imperiled…

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