Hurricane Helene and Subsequent Cleanup Efforts Have Decimated North America’s Most Biodiverse Waters - Inside Climate News

Hurricane Helene’s flooding left Appalachia’s rivers scarred and its endangered wildlife struggling to recover

A year after Hurricane Helene tore through Appalachia and the Midwest, conservationists are still uncovering the scale of habitat loss and toxic pollution threatening the region’s unique freshwater species.Kacie Faith Kress reports for Inside Climate News.In short:Conservation groups say Helene’s floods scoured rivers to bedrock, stripping habitats that support more than 300 fish species and numerous endangered salamanders and mussels.Cleanup an…

Hurricane Helene and Subsequent Cleanup Efforts Have Decimated North America’s Most Biodiverse Waters - Inside Climate News

Endangered aquatic species remain vulnerable nearly a year after the storm moved through Appalachia and the lower Midwest.By Kacie Faith KressIn Knoxville, Tennessee, there’s a minuscule warehouse tucked off the side of the road. Its tiny gravel parking lot is full. In the back of the cramped, wood-paneled building are dozens of aquarium tanks filled with endangered, threatened, imperiled, and at-risk fish species.

Hurricane Helene and Subsequent Cleanup Efforts Have Decimated North America’s Most Biodiverse Waters

Endangered aquatic species remain vulnerable nearly a year after the storm moved through Appalachia and the lower Midwest. By Kacie Faith Kress In Knoxville, Tennessee, there's a minuscule warehouse tucked off the side of the road. Its tiny gravel parking lot is full. In the back of the cramped, wood-paneled building are dozens of aquarium tanks filled with endangered, threatened, imperiled, and at-risk fish species.