Red Hook Partners with DEC to Train Volunteers
to Monitor Salamander and Frog Migration
on February 25 at Bard College
The Town of Red Hook Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) and the Saw Kill Watershed Community (SKWC) will be cohosting a training for new volunteers of the Amphibian Migration and Road Crossings (AM&RC) Project on Tuesday, February 25 5:30-8:30pm. The public is invited to attend to learn how to participate in this annual volunteer program. Space is limited and registration is required.
Now in its 12th year, the AM&RC Project was started by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program in partnership with Cornell University. Throughout the Hudson Valley, community volunteers document the annual breeding migration of frogs, toads, and salamanders from their forest habitat to small wetlands called vernal pools. These amphibians often encounter roads on their migration journey, and volunteers help move them across safely. Since 2009, volunteers have counted more than 23,000 migrating amphibians and assisted nearly 15,000 across roads.
The CAC is an AM&RC Project Partner and will be helping to organize volunteers in Red Hook and Rhinebeck for this year’s migration. The free volunteer training on February 25 will provide instruction from Estuary Program staff on forest and wetland habitats, volunteer safety practices and data collection, and identification of amphibian species. Volunteers can register for the training at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AMRC2020Training_Dutchess
For information about the AM&RC Project, visit https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/51925.html.
For more information about the Town of Red Hook CAC, visit https://www.redhook.org/162/Conservation-Advisory-Council or contact Laurie Husted at 845-464-8025. For more information about the SKWC visit https://sawkillwatershed.wordpress.com/