As the earth thaws and spring rains drench New Hampshire, thousands of salamanders, frogs, and toads slither, crawl, and hop their way to vernal breeding pools. Many are killed when their journeys take them across busy roads. In an effort to protect these species, Ashuelot Valley Environmental Observatory (AVEO) trains volunteers to serve as Salamander Crossing Guards at amphibian road crossings throughout Cheshire County. These heroic volunteers count migrating amphibians and safely usher the animals across roads during one or more “big nights” each spring.

In 2008, over 100 Salamander Crossing Guards crossed nearly 4000 amphibians at nine sites throughout Cheshire County and the Ashuelot watershed over the course of two Big Nights: in total, over 1100 spring peepers, 1100 wood frogs, and nearly 1300 spotted salamanders, as well as handfuls of two-lined salamanders, four-toed salamanders, two-lined salamanders, red-backed salamanders, red-spotted newts, green frogs, American toads, and rare Jefferson salamanders, were spared the crush of the tire by our dedicated crew of volunteers.

For more information or to volunteer, contact AVEO at (603) 358-2065 or brett@aveo.org.