Salamanders, newts and wood frogs depend upon the vernal pools that appear during snow melt and vanish as the summer arrives.
If you’ve wondered where these neighbors are born, and where they return to make babies, this video is a perfect introduction:
Without these havens, our amphibian friends will disappear.
In Massachusetts, we can certify these pools by recording the presence of 5 or more egg clusters of spotted salamanders and of wood frogs. Certification starts with citizen scientists collecting and sending vernal pool data to the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, which will send a specialist out to confirm the data is correct. If it is, the pool gets registered and is protected by law against negative impacts. This is the only way they get that protection!
