Grab your rubber boots and polarized glasses. It’s not too late to explore a vernal pool near you.
Vernal pools are woodland depressions that hold water in Spring and then typically dry throughout Summer. Several amphibians are dependent on the temporarily inundated environment for breeding and offspring development. Vernal pools provide habitat for a host of other organisms too.
After just a short visit, you’ll be saying in fascination – Look at the wood frog tadpoles swimming about. There must be at least 100 spotted salamander eggs encompassed in that softball-sized gelatinous blob. What are those small jumbles of sticks and leaves crawling across the pool floor? Caddisflies fashioned themselves a protective case. These spring peepers are so well camouflaged that I can’t see them, but I sure can hear them!
Enjoy vernal pooling while they still teem with life, and please prize these very important woodland features like we do.
