ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The devastation caused by Tropical Storm Helene in Southern Appalachia, including flooding, powerful winds, and landslides, has not only affected homes and businesses, but has also inflicted severe ecological damage.

Biologists and experts are currently struggling to reach impacted areas of Western North Carolina to evaluate the damage, with many also experiencing the storm’s effects in their own lives.

Initial assessments are revealing a troubling reality: certain natural habitats in the region may take many years, even decades, to bounce back.

“The ecosystems here could look very different in the next 10, 20, or even 50 years compared to how they would have without this storm,” explained Falyn Owens, a wildlife extension biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

“We are witnessing an impact from Hurricane Helene that we’ve never documented before.”

Impact of Helene on Aquatic Habitats

The violent floodwaters disrupted homes and businesses, transporting vast amounts of sediment along the way.

Aquatic environments are particularly sensitive to changes in water clarity, affected by particles such as silt. The floods and landslides have altered large areas of habitat, and additional damage could stem from increased sedimentation.

“We expect that the most significant, long-lasting impacts of the hurricane will primarily affect aquatic life and their habitats,” Owens stated.

“A considerable amount of debris from human activities has been swept into riparian zones, which is likely to lead to water quality problems for an extended period in Western North Carolina,” said Miranda Turner, a wildlife health biologist with the Wildlife Resources Commission.

“The severity of these water quality challenges will depend on the types of debris and toxics released during the storm and how they interact with critical wildlife habitats, potentially impacting fish, amphibians, and reptiles significantly.”

Researchers are just beginning to grasp the full extent of the damage.

“It will take a long time—months, or even years—to thoroughly assess the impacts on the diverse array of aquatic species that we monitor,” Owens added.

The eastern hellbender, a rare salamander and North America’s largest amphibian, has already suffered severe habitat loss due to Helene, as previously reported by The Citizen Times.

In McDowell County, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission reported “significant damage” to a state fish hatchery.

All 600,000 fish at the hatchery either died or were forced out during the storm, according to spokesperson Anna Gurney.

The facility remains closed indefinitely while damages are assessed.

Impact of Helene on Terrestrial Species

Terrestrial species such as deer, raccoons, and coyotes have greater mobility and are generally more capable of evading storm disruptions, according to Owens.

“While there may have been losses among these populations, many of these species are likely to have survived the storm.”

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“Some were swept away by the floodwaters and didn’t survive,” she mentioned. However, she added that “we do not expect significant impacts on the overall population levels of those species.”

Helene also had a substantial effect on different bird species, especially since some were migrating when the storm hit.

According to BirdCast, a project by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other partners, some coastal birds were blown inland as far as Indiana due to the storm.

In late September, while Helene passed through Western North Carolina, reports showed that laughing gulls were sighted near Asheville, based on data collected from birds displaced by the storm, according to BirdCast.

“Birdwatchers across the nation documented sightings of pelagic birds, which are typically only found over the ocean,” Owens explained. “They were essentially lifted up by the storm’s winds and carried further inland.”

Western North Carolina is home to diverse bat species, including the federally endangered gray bats that roost in bridges, as noted by Turner.

“After several bridges were lost to flooding, it’s uncertain if these roosts and their bat populations survived the storm. It may take months for infrastructure to be repaired sufficiently for biologists to assess the bat populations,” she stated.

The fates of many vulnerable species, such as the southern bog turtle, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, and the Carolina northern flying squirrel, are also unclear following Helene’s impact, as experts face challenges reaching the ravaged areas, Turner added.

Furthermore, North Carolina’s changing climate suggests that more destructive events are likely to occur in the future.

“As climate change intensifies, and we experience more frequent and severe weather events,” Turner warned, “we can expect a rise in wildlife issues, including diseases spreading more easily, animals being displaced from their natural habitats, and increased encounters between humans and wildlife as animals adapt to their changing environments post-storm.”

How did Helene impact vegetation, crops, and forests?

Helene’s devastation caused significant damage across parts of Western North Carolina, stripping away trees and vegetation. These bare areas provide an opening for invasive species to establish themselves.

“Ecosystems will recover, but we have to be cautious about invasive species taking advantage of these disruptions,” Owens warned. “This might lead to a battle against invasives that we might not have faced otherwise.”

She mentioned that the state plans to restore biodiversity by supporting the re-establishment of native plants and countering the spread of invasive species.

Invasive plants often displace beneficial native species and can cause various complications. For example, tree of heaven, a common invasive in North Carolina, is a favored host for the spotted lanternfly – a damaging invasive pest already gaining a foothold in the state.

The agricultural sector is also anticipated to be negatively affected. Thousands of farms and over $600 million in crop value were in Helene’s path through North Carolina, according to an analysis by the American Farm Bureau.

“Heavy rainfall and flooding created ideal conditions for bacterial and fungal diseases to thrive” in vegetable crops, the report added, noting that federal regulations prevent the sale of food crops that have been submerged in floodwaters.

Additionally, landslides could exacerbate ecological damage across the Southern Appalachian mountains. These occurrences tend to “destroy substantial areas of forest, displace wildlife habitats, and erode productive soils from slopes,” according to research findings.

For the most part, Pisgah and Nantahala national forests managed to endure the impact of Helene and have started to reopen gradually as teams work on clearing debris and repairing roads and trails, as reported by The Citizen Times.

Decades of Recovery Ahead Post-Helene

As experts begin to evaluate the devastation caused by Helene—both to human communities and the wildlife of Western North Carolina—some areas are predicted to recover more quickly than others.

“Certain species will bounce back faster,” Owens stated. “Certain plant species and some aquatic life will return quickly.”

However, depending on a single species of plant or animal to dominate an ecosystem can lead to environmental decline.

A future challenge for North Carolina’s recovery will be…“`html

Scientists will focus on protecting and encouraging the revival of biodiversity in areas that have been harmed.

The process of healing these ecosystems will take a substantial amount of time.

“Ultimately, many of these regions will bounce back,” Owens mentioned. “But when I refer to the long term, I mean it could span decades.”

(This article has been revised to fix a spelling error.)