State: Brake for frogs and salamanders
Vermont wildlife officials are looking to protect early-spring amphibian road crossings important to salamanders and frogs, like this wood frog shown above. (VTF&W Photo / John Hall)
Roadways near ponds and wetlands are about to get a lot more traffic, but not the human kind.
Every year, salamanders and frogs cross these roads during their breeding season, and Vermont wildlife officials are asking people to slow down while traveling them at night in early spring, or find alternate routes.
These amphibian highways, if left mostly undisturbed in the evening hours, can offer a chance to observe some creatures rarely seen by the human eye.
“One of the benefits of checking out amphibian road crossings is that you can see many individuals and species in a short period and small area, and some species may not be seen the rest of the year," said Luke Groff, a herpetologist with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, in a statement. "The spotted and blue-spotted salamanders, for example, belong to a group called the 'mole salamanders,' because after breeding, they retreat underground or under logs or stumps, and are rarely seen until the next spring.”
Biologists rely on these road crossings for data collection on otherwise hard-to-find species. For example, the four-toed salamander is rare in Vermont, and its distribution is not well understood. This information is used by Fish & Wildlife, the Agency of Transportation and other conservation partners to assess the need for wildlife passages and barriers in road construction plans that allow all wildlife, not just frogs and salamanders, to more safely cross roadways.
In these opening weeks of spring, wildlife officials are also asking for the public's help in identifying amphibian road crossings. Groff is encouraging Vermonters to report these crossings by sending him an email (Luke.Groff@vermont.gov). If people can safely take photos of these animals crossing the road, officials will gladly receive the pictures as well.
— Gareth Henderson
