24 May 2011

Teamwork

This after noon, David, Doug, myself, and my brother Matthias (fresh from Kenya and the white sands of Zanzibar) embarked on an official Lewis and Clark expedition through the woodlot. We made our way up to end of the 36 acres, visiting as many pools as we could find. The sheer number of pools astounded us, especially David and Doug, who through all their experience in the area, have never seen a place quite like it. The woodlot is incredibly varied geographically speaking with steep ridges, swales, and a number of large and impressive glacial erratics. The large number of pools must be due to the rockiness of the area. 


I began using the GPS a bit, marking points for each pool we found. Doug has already established logging trails marked on the GPS which will be included in my map and help navigate the woodlot. Tomorrow, I will start marking the remainder of the pools as well as important landmarks and interesting rocky outcrops. For each place, I will take a series of photographs and note any surrounding species to create a profile of that place.


The Warner naturalist team scoured the woodlot, discussing species of plants, vernal pool characteristics and their obligate species, as well as the difficult question of management and how best to protect these important habitats. Doug and David provided two excellent points of view on the subject. A sufficient buffer between a logging job and a pool should be provided to provide a forest canopy for the pool. However, it should not become an island in the middle of a clear cut, but a connected part of the rest of the forest. While just letting a place be is important, logging can open areas of the forest and provide sun exposure to the understory. This results in lush pockets of vegetation and allows some other species to thrive. I think a thoughtful balance between both a wildlife and forestry perspective is needed. The first step, however, is knowing what lives here.


David examining the different sedges growing in this vernal pool
The majority of the pools contain spotted salamander egg masses. Others we surveyed are being used by wood frogs, green frogs, spring peepers, red-spotted newts, with one pool containing a large mass of jefferson salamander eggs, and a few other pools that could be used by grey tree frogs. We have yet to  observe any turtles on the property, though some pools may be deep enough to support them.

Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota)



1 comment:

  1. I hope you can continue this project well beyond the two weeks designated-- it seems like such a rich experience for you. And I so enjoy reading your blog!

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