W
wes
Guest
<font color="ff6000">Caudata.org Paperboy note: Go to the URL below for the supporting video report.</font>
<u>SANDUSKY REGISTER </u>(Ohio) 06 April 06 A BLAST for salamanders (Molly Linn)
Berlin Heights: Dynamiting 300 holes into the forest floor might not sound like the most eco-friendly thing to do, unless you're a salamander.
No salamanders were injured while making vernal pools -- a natural wet habitat where the amphibians lay their eggs -- Wednesday at Edison Woods near Berlin Heights.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. explosive technicians sounded a long blow from an air horn, and seconds later dirt catapulted above the treetops.
The blast was the second of its kind funded through a wetlands mitigation fund. The money comes from developers across the region who pay a fee for developing property that eliminates existing wetlands. Under state law there must be a wetlands replacement nearby or money paid into the mitigation fund, said Brad Phillips, part-time Erie County MetroParks worker.
Blasting costs about $1,200 a day for both the manpower and explosive materials and uses no tax dollars, said Jon Granville of Erie County MetroParks.
Vernal pools are small collections of water that fill from spring and fall rains. They can dry out from time to time, but are an ideal habitat for many amphibians, including salamanders.
The salamanders that will frequent these manmade vernal pools are mole salamanders with large, stout bodies. Species like the Jefferson, spotted and marbled salamanders have well-developed lungs, spend most of their lives underground and vary in length from about 3-7 inches. Salamanders migrate to low-lying woodlands during their courtship season.
"The vernal pools are a vital part of their life cycle," Phillips said. "Salamanders come back to the same pool each year to lay their eggs."
Phillips explained the vernal pools are safer environments for the amphibians to lay eggs since vernal pools lack fish, which are natural predators of salamander eggs.
The short-legged creatures won't use the pools this spring because it takes time to develop the right environment in the pools.
"We will wait for next year's leaf fall," Phillips said. "It will take a couple of years before this vernal pool will support salamanders. We will probably grab an egg case from another vernal pool to populate this one."
Eventually native grasses and wild flowers will be planted to help the ground stabilize and the pools to mature, Phillips said.
The pool will be shared with other creatures like toads, frogs and quarter-sized frogs called spring peepers. Peepers can be heard in most wooded areas. Their short peeps are audible and in large numbers can seem deafening.
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/04/06/front/233368.txt
<u>SANDUSKY REGISTER </u>(Ohio) 06 April 06 A BLAST for salamanders (Molly Linn)
Berlin Heights: Dynamiting 300 holes into the forest floor might not sound like the most eco-friendly thing to do, unless you're a salamander.
No salamanders were injured while making vernal pools -- a natural wet habitat where the amphibians lay their eggs -- Wednesday at Edison Woods near Berlin Heights.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. explosive technicians sounded a long blow from an air horn, and seconds later dirt catapulted above the treetops.
The blast was the second of its kind funded through a wetlands mitigation fund. The money comes from developers across the region who pay a fee for developing property that eliminates existing wetlands. Under state law there must be a wetlands replacement nearby or money paid into the mitigation fund, said Brad Phillips, part-time Erie County MetroParks worker.
Blasting costs about $1,200 a day for both the manpower and explosive materials and uses no tax dollars, said Jon Granville of Erie County MetroParks.
Vernal pools are small collections of water that fill from spring and fall rains. They can dry out from time to time, but are an ideal habitat for many amphibians, including salamanders.
The salamanders that will frequent these manmade vernal pools are mole salamanders with large, stout bodies. Species like the Jefferson, spotted and marbled salamanders have well-developed lungs, spend most of their lives underground and vary in length from about 3-7 inches. Salamanders migrate to low-lying woodlands during their courtship season.
"The vernal pools are a vital part of their life cycle," Phillips said. "Salamanders come back to the same pool each year to lay their eggs."
Phillips explained the vernal pools are safer environments for the amphibians to lay eggs since vernal pools lack fish, which are natural predators of salamander eggs.
The short-legged creatures won't use the pools this spring because it takes time to develop the right environment in the pools.
"We will wait for next year's leaf fall," Phillips said. "It will take a couple of years before this vernal pool will support salamanders. We will probably grab an egg case from another vernal pool to populate this one."
Eventually native grasses and wild flowers will be planted to help the ground stabilize and the pools to mature, Phillips said.
The pool will be shared with other creatures like toads, frogs and quarter-sized frogs called spring peepers. Peepers can be heard in most wooded areas. Their short peeps are audible and in large numbers can seem deafening.
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/04/06/front/233368.txt