Rhyacotriton kezeri

The genus Rhyacotriton previously contained a single species R. olympicus. Based on genetic differentiation, Good and Wake (1992) split olympicus into 4 species: R. olympicus, R. variegatus, R. kezeri, and R. cascadae.

Good and Wake (1992) removed Rhyacotriton from the family Dicamptodontidae and established it as the sole member of the family Rhyacotritonidae.

Small range in cold streams and seeps of the Coast Ranges of Washington and Oregon; compared to other torrent salamanders, this species' continued presence in managed forests suggests it may be less sensitive to timber harvest and other activities that result in increased water temperature and sedimentation. There are very few adequately protected populations.

This species is found in the Coast Range of Oregon and Washington, from the vicinity of the Chehalis River in Grays Harbor County, Washington, south through Pacific, Lewis, Wahkiakum, and Cowlitz counties, Washington to the Little Nestucca River and the Grande Ronde Valley in Clastsop, Polk, Tillamook, and Yamhill counties, Oregon, USA (Good and Wake 1992, Russell et al. 2010, ORBIC 2022). iNaturalist shows additional research grade records from Washington and Columbia counties, Oregon (iNaturalist 2022). Including these records increases the range extent to 11,000 sq km. Distribution within the range is patchy (Hallock and McAllister 2005).

There are approximately 20 unique documented locations in Oregon (325 observations; ORBIC 2022) and 20 unique documented locations in Washington (261 observations; ORBIC 2022). Additional records may exist. iNaturalist has approximately 120 unique research grade locations (170 observation records) across the two states (iNaturalist 2022), although it is possible that some of these may be misidentified, and many of them overlap with existing records.

Logging can negatively impact this species by increasing stream temperature and sedimentation (Welsh and Hodgson 2008), though the cool, moist climate and rapid vegetation growth in the Coast Range may mitigate these effects to some degree (Russell et al. 2010). The species occupies areas that area intensively managed for timber. The effect of timber harvest on Rhyacotriton kezeri is not clear, but activities that result in higher stream temperature, increased sedimentation, altered hydrology, or population fragmentation (including logging and road construction and maintenance) can have a negative effect on this species (Hallock and McAllister 2005, Russell et al. 2010, Emel et al. 2019). Habitat fragmentation from logging limits dispersal (Emel et al. 2019). Torrent salamanders in general are sensitive to increased temperature and sedimentation, such as may result from logging or logging road construction (Bury and Corn 1988, Corn and Bury 1989), but specific information on the effect on R. kezeri is not available. Optimal mature forest habitat has been greatly reduced by timber harvest activities within the range of this species (Hallock and McAllister 2005). Road construction and maintenance, including for logging, can have negative impacts to this species through increased sedimentation and altered flows. Roads and culverts may also pose a barrier to movement, particularly in a species with limited dispersal ability (Howell and Maggiulli 2011). However, this species' continued presence in managed forests suggests it may be less sensitive to timber harvest and other activities that result in increased water temperature and sedimentation.
Torrent salamanders are vulnerable to environmental toxins (Howell and Maggiulli 2011). Herbicides to suppress the shrub layer on forest lands after harvest, or to control invasive vegetation, have the potential to negatively impact Rhyacotriton kezeri. The severity of this threat is unknown.
This species has been identified as moderate to highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, largely due to anticipated changes in stream hydrology, warmer temperatures, and drier microclimates (Case et al. 2014, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 2022)