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<u>EXPRESS-TIMES </u>(Easton, New Jersey) 15 January 07 Saving salamanders can be slippery proposition (Erin Klabunde)
Bethlehem: There's some slippery business going on at Illick's Mill.
Led by Liberty High School junior Alex Hoffman, students from the Illick's Mill Partnership for Environmental Education are working to raise awareness of vernal pools, the natural habitat in which salamanders and frogs lay their eggs.
Students are roping off the pools and posting signs in the Monocacy Nature Center. They hope to protect the pools and educate the community about their environmental importance.
"You have to start protecting them now because when the spring comes, that's when the salamanders use them for breeding," Hoffman said.
So far, Hoffman and students Devin Zydyk, Eric Ivankevich and Pete Korpics have identified and marked off four vernal pools. But they know there are still more to be found.
"(We're) looking for depressions in the ground with a substantial amount of water," said Zydyk, a senior and the executive director of the environmental team.
Other clues are moist, dark soil and rings around trees. The pools are temporary, filling with rainwater and melted snow but usually remaining dry during summer months.
The students' work is in conjunction with the statewide Vernal Pool Monitoring Project sponsored by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
The goal of the project is to raise awareness of vernal pools, the organisms found inside them and their importance to the environment, according to Kathy LaTorre, a senior and the partnership's executive director of community relations.
Once the environmental team located probable vernal pools, they tested the dissolved oxygen in the water, took photographs and measured and identified salamanders.
Students hope that staking off the pools will prevent people from treading through them. If the pools are secure, the eggs laid in the spring will be safe and the salamanders' breeding stages will be successful.
Hoffman said the partnership is also hoping to identify different species and introduce more species that should be in the area. For example, she and her teammates want to promote an increase in the frog population at the Monocacy Nature Center.
Ivankevich, a senior who specializes in water testing, said, "We're turning the mill into an environmental action center, so if the environment around the mill isn't of good quality, it kind of defeats the purpose."
The team realizes not everyone understands the importance of their work. Last weekend, someone ripped down the tape and sign around one of the pools.
"We hope that the community would help us out by respecting our designated areas, because it's not just for us, it's for them," said Zydyk.
http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1168837533108500.xml&coll=2
Bethlehem: There's some slippery business going on at Illick's Mill.
Led by Liberty High School junior Alex Hoffman, students from the Illick's Mill Partnership for Environmental Education are working to raise awareness of vernal pools, the natural habitat in which salamanders and frogs lay their eggs.
Students are roping off the pools and posting signs in the Monocacy Nature Center. They hope to protect the pools and educate the community about their environmental importance.
"You have to start protecting them now because when the spring comes, that's when the salamanders use them for breeding," Hoffman said.
So far, Hoffman and students Devin Zydyk, Eric Ivankevich and Pete Korpics have identified and marked off four vernal pools. But they know there are still more to be found.
"(We're) looking for depressions in the ground with a substantial amount of water," said Zydyk, a senior and the executive director of the environmental team.
Other clues are moist, dark soil and rings around trees. The pools are temporary, filling with rainwater and melted snow but usually remaining dry during summer months.
The students' work is in conjunction with the statewide Vernal Pool Monitoring Project sponsored by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
The goal of the project is to raise awareness of vernal pools, the organisms found inside them and their importance to the environment, according to Kathy LaTorre, a senior and the partnership's executive director of community relations.
Once the environmental team located probable vernal pools, they tested the dissolved oxygen in the water, took photographs and measured and identified salamanders.
Students hope that staking off the pools will prevent people from treading through them. If the pools are secure, the eggs laid in the spring will be safe and the salamanders' breeding stages will be successful.
Hoffman said the partnership is also hoping to identify different species and introduce more species that should be in the area. For example, she and her teammates want to promote an increase in the frog population at the Monocacy Nature Center.
Ivankevich, a senior who specializes in water testing, said, "We're turning the mill into an environmental action center, so if the environment around the mill isn't of good quality, it kind of defeats the purpose."
The team realizes not everyone understands the importance of their work. Last weekend, someone ripped down the tape and sign around one of the pools.
"We hope that the community would help us out by respecting our designated areas, because it's not just for us, it's for them," said Zydyk.
http://www.nj.com/news/expresstimes/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1168837533108500.xml&coll=2