SALISBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – Holding flashlights and wearing reflective vests, a group of volunteers surveyed a dirt road in Salisbury in hopes of helping some cold-blooded creatures cross unharmed.
Each spring, amphibians choose a warm, wet night to journey from their winter homes in an upslope, forested environment, move to the surface, and then down to their breeding habitat, usually in water.
Since those journeys sometimes involve the critters having to cross roads, Jim Andrews and others at Otter Creek Audubon Society and the Salisbury Conservation Commission host two events each season during ideal temperatures where volunteers help salamanders, frogs, and other amphibians avoid getting hit by a car.
“It’s a very cool thing. I think it’s become in Vermont, a right of Spring,” said Jim Andrews of Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas.
It certainly is a right of spring for volunteers Kristine and Preston Turner, who have helped these amphibian friends cross the street for the last 20 years.
“It’s just nice to involve the community, to see that this happens every year, here in this spot, this is their location,” said Kristine.
“It’s very exciting because some nights there are hundreds that are crossing at any one time,” said Preston.
Weather plays a big role in migration. Some amphibians move right when it gets above freezing, while others wait until it’s warmer.
Due to this year’s mild winter, experts predicted an earlier migration season. Andrews says the changing climate poses a threat to amphibian movement. Some may move too early on a warmer winter night and face deadly freezing ground, or sometimes ponds dry out because there isn’t enough rain, which is also detrimental.
“This messing with the climate, as we are doing, we’re creating all sorts of challenges for wildlife,” said Andrews.
Andrews and his team document the different amphibians during the events, and they continue this identification throughout the year so Vermonters can be informed and effective stewards of wildlife habitats.