"'We lose this, and we lose that,' a former state scientist says, 'and what's unique and beautiful starts to fall apart.'"

"HUTTONSVILLE, W.Va. — Rodney Bartgis crouched down, slowly turning over rocks in search of the elusive Cheat Mountain salamander on Central West Virginia's Gaudineer Knob.

Already federally listed under the Endangered Species Act, it's not easy to find them, the former state biologist says.

It could get much harder.

As the climate continues to heat up, a cascade of ecosystem effects could pose more risk to the salamander and other species tucked inside these Allegheny Mountains—starting with further declines in red spruce, whose reddish-brown trunks stand tall on the landscape and in the lives of West Virginians."

Kate Mishkin reports for the Charleston Gazette-Mail (via InsideClimate News) November 24, 2019. [2]