Amphibians Cross the Road, With a Little Help From Local Volunteers

If you are on the road on a rainy night at this time of year, you’ll see frogs, toads and salamanders hopping, skipping and slithering as they try to cross the road. And many, squished, who died trying.

You might also see equally wet volunteers doing their best to help them across.

For most of the year amphibians remain largely out of human sight. But every spring, for about three weeks, amphibians that live in the forests of Dutchess County are on the move to breed. They migrate as much as a quarter of a mile, which, when you’re a salamander, is plenty far.

Their destination? Vernal pools, shallow depressions in or around forests where amphibians have been breeding since long before humans occupied the Hudson Valley. These pools, common in our area, are environmental hotspots. They fill up with water in the springtime and dry out by late summer. Frogs and salamanders like them because there’s no steady stream of water, thus no fish to eat them. Female frogs leave a set of fragile eggs for males to fertilize. Each embryo is protected by a small jelly envelope.

New York state hosts 32 species of amphibians, including frogs, toads and salamanders. Of those, 85% are found in the Hudson Valley.

“This area has a really amazing diversity of habitat types that are ideal for amphibians to thrive,” said Laura Heady, a Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) biologist.

Locally, the most common salamander is the red-backed salamander, though it’s hard to spot through decaying leaves on the forest floor. Other species now crossing roads are the spotted salamander, the Jefferson-blue spotted salamander, wood frogs and spring peepers. The local migrating species at the greatest risk of extinction is the four-toed salamander.

Wood frogs freeze solid all winter, then thaw out and cross the roads in an odyssey to find a vernal pool to mate. Salamanders emerge from under rotting tree roots and inch their way to the pools.

They migrate on rainy nights because their skin must stay moist. Amphibians’ skin is permeable and transfers both oxygen and water directly into their bodies.

In Dutchess County, the migration lasts two to four weeks. This year, because of the mild winter, it started a bit earlier, in late March. “No year is normal anymore,” said Heady. “You need a rainy night and for the temperature to be 40 degrees or above. The ground thaws and the frogs are on the move, thousands of them.”

Then they migrate back to the forest. “When the party’s over, it’s over,” said Heady with a laugh.

Human volunteers a key ally in the amphibians’ yearly battle to survive

Many amphibians make it across local roads, but often they end up as roadkill. That’s where the migration volunteers come in.

Every April, as sure as the evening trill of spring peepers, out come the volunteers to help the migrating amphibians cross roadways. They are part of a well-established research program run by the state DEC called the Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project, which Heady has run for 16 years.

Think of it as an amphibian neighborhood watch program. “It’s fun to know we’re keeping our neighborhood safe for these creatures,” said Sarah Imboden of Tivoli. “After all, they are our neighbors too.”

Over the past two weeks, more than 300 local volunteers have already helped guide the amphibians across, Heady said.

Why, you might ask, would anyone care whether a small, very slimy creature gets across the road? There are, after all, bigger problems.

“Our frogs and salamanders are a major piece of the forest ecosystem,” explained Heady. “They help with groundwater filtration.” Amphibians also feed on the larvae of harmful insects.

“They fill an important niche,” said Heady. “Imagine if there weren’t any bats to eat mosquitoes. Frogs are similar.”

They’re also a source of food. Turtles and water birds eat them. “I even saw a barred owl pick up a salamander once,” said Heady.

Globally, amphibians are in sharp decline. Of 8,011 species worldwide surveyed in a recent study published in Nature, amphibians were the most threatened vertebrate class. Scientists point to disease, aquatic pollution, climate change, and habitat loss due to logging, roads and agriculture as causes for the decline, noting the increasingly bleak future predicted for amphibians.

Locally, scientists are recording significant declines of salamanders and frogs, though Heady notes research is still ongoing.

Road mortality is “a very serious threat,” said Heady. Habitat fragmentation is a huge threat to them,” she added. “They don’t move fast and they encounter a lot of roads.”

That’s why the amphibian migration volunteers are so critical, Heady said. Over 1,000 volunteers in the Hudson Valley have participated in the past 16 years.

Volunteers fill out surveys on what creatures they’ve helped. “So far we’ve received 1,600 surveys,” said Heady, recording 20 different species of migrating amphibians. The surveys help drive science and state and local conservation decisions.

“These people are amazing,” said Heady. “They come out at night in the worst weather. Every one of them is very special.”

The amphibian chaperones come in all ages and sizes. “I thought it was a little strange at first to go around in the rain at night,” said Isaac Imboden, 14, an eighth grader. “But actually it’s kind of fun to keep a tally of how many salamanders you’ve saved.” He has since enlisted the help of several classmates.

“What I appreciate most is that we can save so many frogs and salamanders,” said his sister Edith, 12. “But it’s also sad when you see how many get run over. It brings you to your senses. You see how hard it is to cross the road for a salamander or a frog. You sort of become one with the frogs.”

Every volunteer has a favorite way of coaxing an amphibian to get its posterior in gear and cross the road before someone squashes it. “Come on little guy,” urged Heady on a recent outing.

“I like to say to the frogs ‘GO!’” said Edith Imboden, offering a tip: “Make sure you set them down pointing the way they were originally going, or they get all confused.”

Want to help? You’ll need to take a short training session that teaches you about safety and how to handle an amphibian. You’ll also get an identification guide so you can record the number of each creature you see. Then you’ll need a reflective vest, a flashlight and reliable rain gear.

“You have to take safety very seriously,” said Heady. “You’re out on a dark road on a rainy night.” Kids love to take part, but the rule is one kid per adult.

Then you’ll need to find a road near a vernal pool. Partner organizations such as the Sawkill Watershed Community and Climate Smart Rhinebeck can help organize your outing. Heady recommends finding pools with the Hudson Valley Natural Resource Mapper.

“I think all of us have a role to play in conserving the amazing diversity we enjoy in Dutchess County,” said Heady. “It’s a way of being a good citizen.”

Asked about her technique for holding frogs, Edith Imboden, a sixth grader, said: “I am extra careful with the peepers, as they are pretty jumpy.”

“But you’ll learn quickly. It’s not like you have to channel your inner frog.”