IMongoose

holy balls, aren't those several hundred new?

I didn't actually know where he was claiming to do research, it just sounded like you were giving a general overview of hellbenders. But yes, after looking at his comments like

"How did you get started?"

"O you know, I couldn't find any Herpetology foundations so I just made one."

The guy is probably full of shit.

Hellbenders are threatened in Missouri and very near or are extinct in Illinois. The St. Louis zoo actually does captive breeding for their population. There are a lot of animals that are in the least concern category for the world while in threatened or endangered for a state or region.