Not easy being green: Amphibians face hazardous annual migration

A spotted salamander

By THANE GRAUEL

It’s about as slimy as a census can get.

Within weeks, as some nighttime temperatures rise to the 40s, several species of salamanders and frogs will emerge from their upland winter hibernation and head for temporary wetlands pools.

For many of them, that means crossing roads at night, which comes with obvious hazards.

To help the slinky creatures survive the asphalt trek in Pound Ridge, a team of humans is once again assembling to scramble on the first big night, known as the “Amphibian Migration Big Night.” They’ll help the frogs, salamanders and toads cross roads safely, and do some counting.

A notice from the Pound Ridge Conservation Board and the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy seeking volunteers to help the mix of web-footed critters asks people to email alabounty@gmail.com by Sunday, Feb. 23.

New York is home to several species of salamander, including the spotted salamander, the Jefferson/blue-spotted salamander complex, the marbled salamander, the eastern newt, northern redback salamander and the four-toed salamander.

Frogs include the wood frog, the gray treefrog, the northern spring peeper, the green frog, the bullfrog, the eastern American toad and the Fowler’s toad.

Dave Prosser, steward for the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy, is part of the local “Frog Team.”

He said planners try to get an idea of when the first big migration will be a week ahead of time. “The first 40-degree night with rain,” he said, is when they go on the move.

“They spend the winter in the forest away from pools and ponds, under logs, under rocks, it’s pretty much a dormant stage for them all winter,” Prosser said. “And then once the temperature starts to uptick a little bit, they move to their breeding grounds, and a lot of times that’s woodland, vernal pools — seasonal pools that fill up with the first rains of spring.”

“That’s where they lay their eggs,” he said.

Pound Ridge, he said, has a few well-documented areas for the migration.

“It’s all volunteer-led,” Prosser said. “We collect data on the species that are crossing and the number of individuals that we see on a given night.”

The numbers of amphibians have been falling worldwide since the 1990s, and local numbers aren’t any different.

“Things are turning downward,” Prosser told The Recorder. “

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is tracking the amphibians as well under its Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project, and has its own corps of volunteers. Training nights are set up for some upstate counties.

The DEC says on its website that migrations can range from a few hundred feet to more than 1 mile. Over the years, its volunteers have assisted some 40,000 amphibians cross roads, and observed 19,000 casualties.