Beth shared this announcement in the Middletown Springs Forum. We thought it was well worth a share:
“Somehow, without cell phones or even Front Porch Forum to help them coordinate, frogs and salamanders of the woods pick the same handful of warmish rainy spring nights to cross the roads en masse to vernal pools. Tonight will likely be another such night!
“Will you help us help them cross safely? Animal populations and our forests suffer when just 10% of these critters become roadkill.
“You may have already spotted the intrepid members of the Middletown Springs Conservation Commission out on the roads after dark, armed with headlamps and old spatulas. Some of you have stopped to chat and make sure we are safe—thank you!
“To help out, you can monitor your own road—do any slow-moving frogs and toads need help crossing the road in the direction they’re pointing?—or would your area benefit from signage?
“Thanks for looking out for our amphibians and reptiles!”
Posted in: Best of FPF
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more
In response to this Best of FPF posting, Travis, from Burlington, shared, “Several years ago I was driving home one night down the 127 beltline in Burlington when I came upon a mass exodus of froglings as they were hopping across the street. They were so small I didn’t know what they were until I got close, and going 40 MPH I was not able to slow down. They also covered the road, so I couldn’t even avoid them! Haven’t seen them since, but I imagine this is just because I am not driving on the night they choose to make their way.
So yes, Route 127 just south of the Plattsburgh ave intersection all the way down to where the street lights end is prime real estate for these guys going between the marshes next to the road and the little marsh next to our townhome over here on the other side of the road. A sign would be awesome, not sure what else we can do with all the crazies that drive on that road…
Thank you for posting this note! I love the peepers when they pipe up and I love finding little fellas around our yard in the morning!”