CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WBOY) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed that the West Virginia spring salamander be listed as endangered.

If the proposed rule is finalized, the only place where West Virginia spring salamanders live—a 2.2-mile cave and stream system in Greenbrier County—will be designated as critical habitat.

According to a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity, only about 300 of the animals still remain. The unique salamander is one of the few cave salamanders to undergo complete metamorphosis from an aquatic larvae to a land-dwelling adult. As adults, they have large gray bodies and are completely blind.

The release said that the main threat to the species is logging, which can cause sediment and runoff to clog the stream; putting the West Virginia spring salamander under Endangered Species Protection will help prevent stream and surrounding forests.

“Safeguarding West Virginia spring salamanders will also help protect drinking water for West Virginians, along with some of the most important aquatic diversity on the planet,” senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity Will Harlan said. “By protecting this salamander, we’re protecting ourselves too.”

The push for making the West Virginia spring salamander endangered has been in the works for more than 12 years, and the next step is for the USFWS to gather comments and information from related and affected experts. From there, it will make a final decision and then schedule and hold a public hearing before the endangered protections are officially granted.