The Munson Sandhills region of the Apalachicola National Forest (see map below) , just south of Florida’s capital city Tallahassee, is rich with small, isolated wetlands that hold water only during certain times of the year. Why are these wetlands important? The list is long but one significant reason is that they provide breeding habitat for a suite of amphibians that only breed in these fishless wetlands. These frogs and salamanders spend most of their life in the longleaf pine uplands but travel (sometimes a half a mile!) to these wetlands to breed.
We have completed the training for our Adopt an Ephemeral Wetland program. With almost 90 citizens involved, including 38 kids, the program has far exceeded our expectations. Trained volunteers have adopted a wetland (or 2) and will survey the amphibians in that wetland at least 4 times a year. These data contribute important information about species diversity, wetland water levels, and help us detect any declines in amphibian populations early.
You can keep track of this program’s progress by visiting our Munson Sandhills website, which includes volunteer blogs, kids activities, and other info.
If you are interested in participating next year, email Rebecca ([email protected]) and she will put you on a notification list, or just join our mailing list (link at right).
Map depicting the Adopt an Ephemeral Wetland study area. Green dots denote ephemeral wetlands.
