Thousands of tadpoles and salamander larvae are now happily
swimming about vernal pools thanks to the hard work of the dedicated Amphibian Monitoring Program (AMP) volunteers! Over 2 dozen volunteers spent 50 hours
patrolling busy roads and helping amphibians get across safely.
With the coldest March on record, Wood Frog migrations
seemed delayed as the snow slowly melted in early April. But by the end of the
month, things had warmed considerable and the cold winter had no effect on the
timing of Spotted Salamander migration. The ‘big night’ in central Vermont
occurred on Earth Day, April 22, and volunteers were out in force to help them
as they migrated across roads. Vernal pool breeders continued to migrate for
the next several weeks, and we even had volunteers out in early May crossing
Spotted Salamanders in East Montpelier.
Collectively, volunteers monitored 12 road crossings,
documenting 10 species of amphibians. Over 500 individual amphibians were moved
off the road, including an impressive 136 Spotted Salamanders! The rare Jefferson/Blue-spotted
Salamander group was also documented at several locations. Five new crossing
sites were located by volunteers in Randolph, Calais, Elmore, Wolcott, and
Worcester. Additionally, 35 people attended the 3 trainings offered this year
to learn more about amphibian migration and what they could do to help.
While our efforts for the Amphibian Monitoring Program have
wrapped up for the year, there will still be amphibians active on roadways
during rainy nights for the remainder of the ‘warm’ season. Continue to stay
alert for animals on the road and feel free to report your sightings to the Vermont Reptile & Amphibian Atlas.
Thanks to all of the AMP's volunteers and supporters for another productive year!
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