Karen Goellner holding a wriggling endangered Hellbender. All photos by Jeffrey T. Briggler.
by Don Corrigan
Missourians have cheered the St. Louis Zoo’s work to save the endangered Ozark hellbender. Now the amphibians’ fans can make a toast to the zoo scientists’ efforts with a glass of Hellbender wine from Stone Hill Winery in Hermann.
“I fell in love with Ozark hellbenders a few years ago when I ran across them at the Saint Louis Zoo,” explained Nathan Held of Stone Hill Winery. “I’ve always loved animals and conservation, so making a new wine to hellbenders seemed to make sense.”
Held, director of strategy for Stone Hill, said the winery wanted a vino with a style that had personality to live up to the native animal’s name, while also being approachable and intriguing for wine lovers.
“We went for a dry red blend of three grapes which hold a unique importance to our region’s wine industry, and which are widely grown across the Ozark Mountain American Viticultural Area,” said Held. “The wine includes Norton and Chambourcin grapes as well as a third heritage grape variety.”
“To keep a little intrigue surrounding the wine – similar to the intrigue of the elusive hellbender – we keep the last grape of the blend a secret,” said Held. “But we knew we needed to make a wine that had a similar connection to our region as the Ozark hellbender itself.”
Hellbenders are large, aquatic amphibians. The hellbender has a flat head, wrinkly body and paddle-shaped tail. Its body is dark gray or brown with irregular dark spots along its back.
Like so many animal species whose survival is under threat, hellbenders have problems because of habitat degradation. This includes declines in water quality, erosion issues, silt covering their rocky living places and difficulties producing young in a damaged environment.
Saint Louis Zoo experts and volunteers have intervened on behalf of hellbenders. They built a nurturing, artificial environment at the Zoo. These tank “streams” allowed them to thrive and reproduce.
The first successful breeding of hellbenders at the Zoo only took place after tender, loving care. The young hellbenders were destined to be introduced back to their native habitat in waterways like the Current, Jacks Fork and Eleven Point rivers.
St. Louis Hellbender Fans
The Hellbender wine bottle’s label notes: “Stone Hill Winery, established in 1847, has dedicated this blend of our most popular red grapes to raise awareness of the this declining, ancient species.”
St. Louis has many Ozark hellbender fans and they are, no doubt, ready for the new wine to further the survival of the their beloved native amphibian.
Among local Hellbender advocates are Kirkwood residents who were inspired by the late Ron and Karen Goellner. The Goellners were instrumental in establishing the hellbender propagation facility at the Zoo in 2004.
“She (Karen) put in the hard work to help save the endangered Ozark hellbenders,” said Charlie Hoessle, a renowned herpetologist and director emeritus of the Saint Louis Zoo. “She traveled down to the Ozark streams with many of us who were interested in this species.
“Her late husband, Ron, also was keenly interested in amphibians and fish and snakes,” added Hoessle. “Before I went to the Zoo, he used to come in to my pet shop in Affton and look at all the creatures. Ron and Karen were great for each other and for the hellbenders.”
At a memorial two years ago for Kirkwood’s Karen Goellner, state herpetologist Jeff Briggler with the Missouri Department of Conservation noted her lively spirit and her enthusiasm for helping out hellbenders.
Briggler provided a visual testimonial with photo slides taken of Goellner at hellbender happenings in the Missouri Ozarks, and closer to home at the Saint Louis Zoo.
Briggler said the Goellners were instrumental in establishing Ozark Hellbender Working Group. The group grew to 100 people and began working on conservation strategy documents to save hellbenders.
Good Hellbender News
Nathan Held closely follows the progress of bringing back the Ozark hellbenders to Missouri streams. This spring, the first successful wild-breeding of a zoo-raised hellbender was discovered. It’s a major step in the right direction for population recovery efforts.
“I love our partnership with the Saint Louis Zoo, because they love to keep us informed on hellbender initiatives and let us participate as much as they can,” said Held. “The Saint Louis Zoo’s Ozark hellbender team has hit so many incredible milestones in the journey to a reestablishment of a wild breeding population.
“Their work with the Missouri Department of Conservation is directly impacting specific state riverways, which have suitable environments for the Ozark hellbender,” Held said.
Held said the Stone Hill Winery family has always had an appreciation for Missouri wildlife and conservation across the planet. He said his family supports sustainable farming and management practices.
These practices in the vineyard, and at the winery, benefits both the land, the grapes, the final product. If done correctly, the practices can be cost effective long term, according to Held.
“Many hours in my youth were spent exploring the natural beauty of Missouri,” said Held. “This paired with my parents’ and grandparents’ dedication to the natural world instilled a great sense of duty to conserve it and respect it.
“We as farmers directly work and benefit from the land,” declared Held. “So, I feel there is an inherent need and obligation to protect both the land and the species here in Missouri for future generations.”
Environmental Echo 