Got Nature? Blog

The aquaculture industry in the Midwest region of the United States has limited or no access to economically feasible seafood processing infrastructure for farmed seafood products, leaving producers to rely on live ethnic fish and recreational markets. This handbook highlights the necessary elements of processing fish to guide any interested fish farmer or entrepreneur.

Local kitchens, such as shared-use commercial kitchens and licensed on-farm kitchens, can provide resources for fish farming entrepreneurs interested in adding some form of value to their fish, by allowing them to diversify their market. These shared-use commercial kitchens can be found in many communities and are rented by food producers, local food entrepreneurs, and caterers to prepare and process their food products for consumer markets. Using local facilities for processing fish and developing aquaculture products could diversify marketing opportunities for small-scale fish farmers and have a positive impact on farm profitability. A diversified market also reduces market risks for fish farmers. Embarking on processing is an additional investment for a fish farmer and requires resources.

This handbook provides some information and resources for fish farmers interested in using licensed kitchen facilities for fish processing or setting up their own on-farm processing kitchen. This handbook highlights the necessary elements of processing fish to guide any interested fish farmer or entrepreneur.

To receive the free download, visit the Purdue Extension’s resource center: The Education Store – Handbook on Processing Fish for Small-Scale Fish Farmers.

Resources:
Profitability of Hybrid Striped Bass Cage Aquaculture in the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
A Guide to Marketing for Small-Scale Aquaculture Producers, The Education Store
A Guide to Small-Scale Fish Processing Using Local Kitchen Facilities, The Education Store
Marine Shrimp Biofloc Systems: Basic Management Practices, The Education Store
Aquaculture Industry in Indiana Growing, Purdue Today
Tilapia Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Rainbow Trout Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Pacific White Shrimp Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet: A Guide for Seafood Consumers, The Education Store
Sustainable Aquaculture: What does it mean to you?, The Education Store
The Benefits of Seafood Consumption The Education Store
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet: A Guide for Seafood Consumers, The Education Store
Pond and Wildlife Management website, Purdue Extension
Fish Cleaning with Purdue Extension County Extension Director, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Aquaponics: What to consider before starting your business, YouTube, Purdue Ag Economics
Aquatics & Fisheries, Playlist, YouTube, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Eat Midwest Fish, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant online resource hub

Kwamena Quagrainie, Aquaculture Marketing Director/Clinical Engagement Full Professor
Purdue Agricultural Economics/Department of Forestry and Natural Resources/Illinois Indiana Sea Grant Program

Amy Shambach, Aquaculture Marketing Outreach Associate
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources/Illinois Indiana Sea Grant Program

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) has recently added to its YouTube Channel new water safety videos, which share what to watch for and how to stay out of those scary situations that can become dangerous very quickly.

Water Safety Basics: Water safety is more then just knowing how to swim. You need to what can cause hazards, what type of water bodies have hazards and how to avoid or survive those hazards.

Water Safety – What to Know Before You Go to the Beach: On average every year, 87 people die in the Great Lakes, half of them are in Lake Michigan. Ocean waves are very different from Great Lake waves.

Water Safety – Winter Beach Hazards: Water safety is so important during the winter. When covered in snow and ice, it’s difficult to tell where the beach ends and the lake begins. Shelf ice is beautiful but dangerous. There are many places where it cannot support a person’s weight, which may cause a fall into freezing water below, so you should never walk on shelf ice.

Water Safety – How to Escape Dangerous Currents: Of the five Great Lakes, Lake Michigan has the highest number of drownings and rescues each year. Lake Michigan is freshwater. This is so different from an ocean. It doesn’t have the salt, so it is lacking that buoyancy already. If waves get super high and rip currents start to form and that water gets volatile, it is going to be much harder to get out of the situation if you start struggling while you are swimming.

Water Safety – Southern Lake Michigan: Lake Michigan has also had more than 250 recorded cases of swimmers caught in rip currents since 2002, which is double the combined total of the other four Great Lakes. Make sure you check the forecast before you come and have a safety plan. In the ocean you can get hit by two waves in 15 seconds but in the Great Lakes you could get his with five waves in that same time period. Learn more about high frequency waves and how dangerous it can be.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant combines research, education, and outreach to empower southern Lake Michigan communities to secure a healthy environment and economy. The program is funded through National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) via the National Sea Grant College Program, as well as the University of Illinois and Purdue University. IISG also works in partnerships with key organizations, institutions, and agencies in the region to reach more audiences and multiply opportunities for success. IISG brings together scientists, educators, policy makers, community decision makers, outreach specialists, business leaders, and the general public to work towards a healthy environment and economy.

Subscribe to the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) YouTube Channel.

More Resources:
Implementation Examples of Smart Growth Strategies in Indiana, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Conservation Through Community Leadership, The Education Store
Conservation Through Community Leadership, Sustainable Communities Extension Program (SCEP)
Conservation through Community Leadership, Purdue Extension You Tube Channel
Rainscaping Education Program, Purdue Extension
Rainscaping and Rain Gardens, Purdue Extension YouTube Channel
Tipping Point Planner, The Education Store
Tipping Point Planner, Purdue Agriculture YouTube Channel
Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces, The Education Store
Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces: Creating Healthy Communities, The Education Store
Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces Program, Purdue Extension YouTube Channel
One Water Approach to Water Resources Management, The Education Store
Community Development, Purdue Extension
Community Planning Playlist, Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Indiana Creek Watershed Project – Keys to Success, Partnerships and People, Subscribe to Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
Climate Change and Sustainable Development, The Education Store
Climate Change: Are you preparing for it?, The Education Store

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

Diana Evans, Extension & Web Communications Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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The Farmers Helping Hellbenders program is accepting applications for the second round of its Indiana Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project. The project aims to assist with the conservation/recovery of eastern hellbender salamanders and improvement of aquatic resources in south central Indiana.

Eligible farmers and landowners, who wish to obtain funding to implement practices designed to keep nutrients and soil resources on fields and improve their watersheds, should contact their local NRCS office before May 10 to apply. Financial assistance is available for agricultural lands within the Blue River-Sinking Watershed boundary in Crawford, Floyd, Harrison and Washington counties, where the eastern hellbender can be found and is being actively managed.

Eligible practices for farmers in the project area include conservation cover, grassed waterways, wildlife habitat planting, nutrient management, riparian buffers and many others. Interested farmers and forest landowners who wish to implement conservation practices on their land should discuss their options with their district conservationist. Contact your local district conservationist by visiting Farmers.gov/Service-locator.

While NRCS accepts program applications year-round, Indiana producers and landowners should apply by May 10 to be considered for the current RCPP-Hellbender funding cycle. Applications received after May 10 will automatically be considered during the next funding cycle.

“The Farmers Helping Hellbenders RCPP project enables us to leverage partnerships to make a lasting positive impact on the habitat of the eastern hellbender salamander,” said Damarys Mortenson, state conservationist for the USDA’s NRCS in Indiana. “This project allows Indiana farmers and forestland owners to conserve the vital natural resources on their land while also protecting the habitat for hellbenders and other aquatic animals. It is a win-win.”

The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) is a large, fully aquatic salamander, nicknamed the snot otter, water dog, devil dog, Allegheny alligator and water eel among other things. Their decline statewide has been documented as far back as the early-to-mid 1900s as a result of habitat loss and poor water quality. Hellbenders, which are listed as an endangered species in Indiana, play an important role in aquatic ecosystems and are indicators of clean water. Eastern hellbenders need clean water to survive as they breathe through their skin by absorbing oxygen from the river and stream water in which they live.

Hellbender populations are declining across their range, from Missouri to New York. This decline, which affects the hellbender population in Indiana’s Blue River, is likely caused by human influences such as habitat degradation and destruction. The stream-bottom habitat of hellbenders can be degraded by sediment from eroded banks and fields and destroyed when streams are dammed or dredged. Hellbenders are also captured inadvertently by anglers or purposefully for illegal sale in the pet trade. Finally, emerging diseases may be impacting some populatio​ns of hellbenders. Specifically, the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and Ranavirus (family Iridoviridae) are considered to be major threats to the persistence of hellbender populations across their range.

For much of the last 17 years, Dr. Rod Williams and his team have been researching eastern hellbenders, spearheading regional conservation efforts and advancing hellbender captive propagation, or the rearing of this ancient animal in captivity and their eventual return to the wild. The partnership had a major breakthrough over the summer of 2023 with the documentation of a young hellbender salamander in the Blue River while conducting routine surveys. This discovery is significant because over the past three to four decades, only adult hellbenders have been documented in the Blue River. The presence of a young salamander suggests that conservation efforts and rearing programs are accomplishing their goals for the recovery of this endangered species.

The Farmers Helping Hellbenders RCPP project is made possible by $2.7 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s RCPP, Purdue and other partnering organizations. The project is led by Purdue with assistance from 14 collaborating public and private organizations on the state and local level including NRCS. The goal of the project is to improve hellbender habitat in a four-county region in south central Indiana by expanding the use of agricultural conservation practices that lead to decreased sediment in local river systems. The project aims to improve water quality, enhance aquatic habitat, increase aquatic wildlife populations, increase riparian and pollinator habitat and protect karst topography.

To view full article with more photos view Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources News & Stories: Farmers Helping Hellbenders RCPP Program Accepting Applications.

Resources:
USDA Awards Farmers Helping Hellbenders Project in Funding, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) Got Nature? Blog
Improving Water Quality by Protecting Sinkholes on Your Property, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Improving Water Quality Around Your Farm video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Hellbenders Rock! Nature of Teaching Lesson Plan, The Education Store
Nature of Teaching – Hellbenders Rock Sneak Peek video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Nature of Teaching – Hellbenders Rock webinar video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Learn about hellbenders and take a tour of Purdue’s hellbender rearing facility video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Learn about the hellbender work at Mesker Park Zoo video, Purdue FNR Facebook
Learn about hellbender work at The Wilds video, Purdue FNR Facebook
Dr. Rod Williams’ 2017 TEDx Talk Help the Hellbenders video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Moment in the Wild – Hellbender Hides video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Moment in the Wild – Hellbender Release video , Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Wild Bulletin, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fish and Wildlife: Our latest Fishing Guide features women anglers, responsible fishing practices, a delicious French-style walleye recipe, and the regulations you need for having a successful day fishing in Indiana’s waters.

You can find the free guide online or pick up a hard copy at your local license retailer.

This guide provides a summary of Indiana fishing regulations. These regulations apply only to fish that originate from or are taken from Indiana’s public waters. Fish from public waters that migrate into or from private waters are still covered by these regulations. These regulations do not apply to fish in private waters that did not originate from public waters.

This guide is not intended to be a complete digest of regulations. If you need complete versions of Indiana rules and regulations for fishing, they can be found in Indiana Code or in Indiana Administrative Code Title 312.

To view this new guide, please visit Indiana Department of Natural Resources: Fishing Guide & Regulations.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources:
Hybrid Striped Bass Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Largemouth Bass Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Seafood Basics: A Toolkit for Understanding Seafood, Nutrition, Safety and Preparation, and Sourcing, The Education Store
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Rainbow Trout Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
A Guide to Small-Scale Fish Processing Using Local Kitchen Facilities, The Education Store
Aquaculture Family Coloring Book Development, The Education Store
Eat Midwest Fish, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant online resource hub
Subscribe to Purdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources YouTube Channel, Wildlife Playlist

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

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Wild Bulletin, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fish and Wildlife: Spring is the time anglers return to fishing on Indiana’s lakes and rivers. Often that includes catching and using live bait. Remember to dispose of all unused bait fish properly in the trash, as invasive carp could be lurking in your bait bucket. Improperly disposing of unused bait fish in a lake or stream could potentially allow invasive species, like silver carp, to spread in Indiana waters.

Invasive carp are a select group of cyprinid fishes (minnow family) that are native to Asia. The term “invasive carp,” formerly known as “Asian carp,” collectively refers to bighead carp, silver carp, grass carp, and black carp. Each of these species was intentionally introduced into the United States for different purposes; however, all are now considered invasive nationally and in Indiana. Invasive carp compete with native species and pose a threat to Indiana’s aquatic ecosystems.

Find out more about how you can help in the fight against invasive carp at DNR: Fish & Wildlife Resources.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources:
Asian Carp | Purdue University Report Invasive Species
Question: Aren’t There Concerns About Consuming Asian Carp As A Food Source In Indiana Streams?
Invasive Species, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
What are invasive species and why should I care?, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Report Invasive Species, Purdue Invasive Species
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Yellow Perch Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
A Guide to Small-Scale Fish Processing Using Local Kitchen Facilities, The Education Store
Eat Midwest Fish, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant online resource hub

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

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MyDNR, Indiana’s Outdoor Newsletter: All annual licenses and stamp privileges from last season expire on March 31. Purchase your 2024 license online, in person, or by mail, and check out our Licenses & Permits webpage for more information on license expiration dates and fees.

Once you have your new license, start planning for your spring fishing fun. The DNR starts stocking fish in early April, and you can take advantage of these opportunities to get an early start on your spring fishing adventures.

View fish stocking locations on the fish stocking webpage and Urban Fishing webpage. Mark your calendars for May 12, the first Free Fishing Day of the year.

To subscribe to the newsletter visit MyDNR Email Newsletter.

Resources:
Hybrid Striped Bass Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Largemouth Bass Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Seafood Basics: A Toolkit for Understanding Seafood, Nutrition, Safety and Preparation, and Sourcing, The Education Store
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
Rainbow Trout Farmed Fish Fact Sheet, The Education Store
A Guide to Small-Scale Fish Processing Using Local Kitchen Facilities, The Education Store
Aquaculture Family Coloring Book Development, The Education Store
Eat Midwest Fish, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant online resource hub
Ask an Expert: Wildlife Food Plots, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
How to Build a Plastic Mesh Deer Exclusion Fence, The Education Store
Managing Your Woods for White-Tailed Deer, The Education Store
Handling Harvested Game: Episode 1, Field Dressing, video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Deer Harvest Data Collection, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – FNR
Age Determination in White-tailed Deer, video, The Education Store
Subscribe to Purrdue Extension-Forestry & Natural Resources YouTube Channel, Wildlife Playlist

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Newsroom: The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced earlier this year that Kwamena Quagrainie of Purdue University received a Fulbright Specialist Program award. Through April and May of 2023, Dr. Quagrainie completed a project at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, training faculty and graduate students about the economics of aquaculture. The project’s aim was to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities both in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within the field of agriculture.

Dr. Quagrainie is one of over 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program each year. Recipients of Fulbright Specialist awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperations between institutions in the U.S. and abroad.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

For full article and videos please visit Kwamena Quagrainie receives Fulbright Specialist award to Ghana – IISG

Resources
A Guide to Marketing for Small-Scale Aquaculture Producers, The Education Store
A Guide to Small-Scale Fish Processing Using Local Kitchen Facilities, The Education Store
Marine Shrimp Biofloc Systems: Basic Management Practices, The Education Store
Aquaculture Industry in Indiana Growing, Purdue Today
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet: A Guide for Seafood Consumers, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Sustainable Aquaculture: What does it mean to you?, The Education Store
The Benefits of Seafood Consumption The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Walleye Farmed Fish Fact Sheet: A Guide for Seafood Consumers, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Pond and Wildlife Management website, Purdue Extension
Fish Cleaning with Purdue Extension County Extension Director, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Aquatics & Fisheries, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Eat Midwest Fish, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant online resource hub

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG)

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Wild Bulletin, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Fish and Wildlife: The Division of Fish & Wildlife asks anglers to report sightings of the mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) to help biologists track their populations across the state. A Species of Special Concern in Indiana, this salamander inhabits the state’s lakes and streams.

Mudpuppies, like fish, live their entire lives in water, but they are more secretive and difficult to locate. During winter, mudpuppies move into shallow water and are more frequently caught by anglers. They may also be viewed from shore using a flashlight at night, while they walk along the lake bottom. Mudpuppies are not dangerous or poisonous. They can be identified by the red, fluffy gills on the back of their head, but the gills tend to lay flat against their body when they are out of the water.

If you catch a mudpuppy while fishing, please photograph it, cut your fishing line, and release the mudpuppy back into the water. Report your observation to the DNR herpetologist at HerpSurveys@dnr.IN.gov and include a clear photograph of it, the date, and the location where it was found. The DNR appreciates your help tracking this unique salamander.

To learn more please visit DNR: Amphibians and Reptiles.

Subscribe to Wild Bulletin.

Resources:
Researchers Discover Young Hellbender in Blue River, Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources News & Stories
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander, The Education Store
Help the Hellbender, Purdue College of Agriculture
Question: Which salamander is this?, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Is it a Hellbender or a Mudpuppy?, Got Nature? Blog
Amphibians: Frogs, Toads, and Salamanders, Purdue Nature of Teaching
A Moment in the Wild, Playlist, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
Help the Hellbender, Playlist & Website
The Nature of Teaching: Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Hellbenders Rock!, The Education Store

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

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Dr. Rod Williams, extension wildlife specialist Nick Burgmeier and the Help the Hellbender team were honored for their collaboration with partners, outreach to the community and awareness education with the 2023 Indiana Friend of Conservation Award on January 9 in Indianapolis. The award, sponsored by Brownfield Ag News and presented by the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD) at its annual Conservation Awards Luncheon, recognizes individuals of entities who have made an outstanding contribution to soil and water conservation in Indiana. State level honorees are named in the corporate, individual and nonprofit/government categories.

Burgmeier and Eliza Hudson, the Farmers Helping Hellbenders Project Coordinator for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, accepted the award on the Help the Hellbender team’s behalf.

The team was nominated for the state level award in the nonprofit/government category by virtue of receiving the Washington County Soil & Water Conservation District’s Friend of Conservation Award in February.

The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) is a large, fully aquatic salamander, nicknamed the snot otter, water dog, devil dog, Allegheny alligator and water eel among other things. Their decline statewide has been documented as far back as the early-to-mid 1900s as a result of habitat loss and poor water quality. Hellbenders play an important role in aquatic ecosystems and are indicators of clean water.

For much of the last 17 years, Williams and his team have been researching eastern hellbenders, spearheading regional conservation efforts and advancing hellbender captive propagation, or the rearing of this ancient animal in captivity and their eventual return to the wild. The partnership had a major breakthrough over the summer with the documentation of a young hellbender salamander in the Blue River while conducting routine surveys. This discovery is significant because over the past three to four decades, only adult hellbenders have been documented in the Blue River. The presence of a young salamander suggests that conservation efforts and rearing programs are accomplishing their goals for the recovery of this endangered species.

The Help the Hellbender lab is actively collaborating with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy as well as several other partners across 13 states on a number of conservation projects and educational opportunities forteachers and children, farmers and more.

To see the full article please visit the FNR News & Stories page.

Resources:
Help the Hellbender website
Help the Hellbender Facebook page
Ask the Expert: Learn All About Hellbenders and Take a Tour, Subscribe Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Ask the Expert video: Help the Hellbender – Dr. Stephen Spear of The Wilds, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Ask the Expert video: Live with Mesker Park Zoo and Botanical Gardens – Hellbenders, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Moment in the Wild video: Hellbender Hide, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Moment in the Wild video: Release Moment of Hellbenders,
How Anglers and Paddlers Can Help the Hellbender video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Eastern Hellbender ID Video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Hellbenders Rock!, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander, The Education Store
How Our Zoos Help Hellbenders, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching: Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store
Healthy Water, Happy Home – Lesson Plan, The Education Store
Purdue Expert: Hellbender Salamander, Purdue University News YouTube Channel
FNR Assists in First Natural Breeding of Eastern Hellbender in Captivity, Purdue FNR News & Stories
Helping the Hellbender: Mesker Park Zoo Begins Captive Breeding Efforts, Purdue Agriculture News

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD)

 

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Are you curious about eastern hellbender salamanders? Learn about their biology, ecology and the work that is being done in Indiana and beyond to restore the populations of this endangered species in a newly released webinar from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The “Conservation of the Hellbender: Experts Unite” webinar, which originally took place on Nov. 14, 2023, features a panel discussion between FNR Extension wildlife specialist Nick Burgmeier, Nate Engbrecht, Indiana state herpetologist, and Leigh Ramon, animal curator at Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Gardens).

The webinar is now available on the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ YouTube channel.

For much of the last 17 years, Dr. Rod Williams and his team have been researching eastern hellbenders, spearheading regional conservation efforts and advancing hellbender captive propagation, or the rearing of this ancient animal in captivity and their eventual return to the wild. Beginning January 2024, Dr. Jason Hoverman will act as lead investigator for the Help the Hellbender lab’s work at Purdue.

Purdue’s hellbender lab is actively collaborating with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy as well as several other partners across 13 states on a number of conservation projects and educational opportunities forteachers and children, farmers and more.

The “Farmers Helping Hellbenders” project, led by Williams and Purdue Extension wildlife specialist/Help the Hellbender project coordinator Nick Burgmeier, was selected in August 2022 to receive $2.7 million in funding through the RCCP Classic fund. The project aims to improve hellbender habitat in a four-county region in south central Indiana, the only remaining habitat for hellbenders in the state, by expanding the use of agricultural conservation practices that lead to decreased sedimentation in local rivers systems. Williams talks more about hellbenders and the project in this YouTube video.

The Indiana Hellbender Partnership is a collaboration between the Indiana DNR and Purdue University with funding support from the Indiana DNR Nongame Wildlife Fund, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and partners in local governments, universities, non-governmental organizations, and zoos that are working to recover the state-endangered hellbender. Developed over 15 years, the Indiana Hellbender Partnership is the largest and most comprehensive group working to recover an imperiled amphibian in Indiana.

Resources:
Help the Hellbender website
Help the Hellbender Facebook page
Ask the Expert: Learn All About Hellbenders and Take a Tour, Subscribe Purdue Extension – Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Ask the Expert video: Help the Hellbender – Dr. Stephen Spear of The Wilds, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Ask the Expert video: Live with Mesker Park Zoo and Botanical Gardens – Hellbenders, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Moment in the Wild video: Hellbender Hide, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
A Moment in the Wild video: Release Moment of Hellbenders, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
How Anglers and Paddlers Can Help the Hellbender video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Eastern Hellbender ID Video, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Hellbenders Rock!, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Help the Hellbender, North America’s Giant Salamander, The Education Store
How Our Zoos Help Hellbenders, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching: Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store
Healthy Water, Happy Home – Lesson Plan, The Education Store

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IN DNR)

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