Stewardship Programs Manager Zoë Smiarowski handles a red-backed salamander at Striar Snake River Preserve in Taunton.
By Zoë Smiarowski, Stewardship Programs Manager
At Wildlands Trust, April 1 means one thing and one thing only: April Pools’ Day! In our book, protecting vernal pools is a more fun and fitting way to celebrate the arrival of spring in Southeastern Massachusetts than sitting on a whoopee cushion.
In observance of our favorite holiday, Wildlands staff and volunteers visited Striar Snake River Preserve to gather evidence of vernal pools on our 84-acre Taunton property. Vernal pools are one of the most delicate yet biodiverse ecosystems in our region, so Wildlands is working with the state to identify the ones we protect on our lands.
You may be wondering, what is a vernal pool? According to the Massachusetts Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP), “vernal pools are small, shallow ponds characterized by a lack of fish and annual or semi-annual periods of dryness. Vernal pool habitats are extremely important to a variety of wildlife species, including some amphibians that breed exclusively in vernal pools, and other organisms such as fairy shrimp which spend their entire life cycles confined to such locales.” Organisms that depend on vernal pools for at least part of their life cycle, such as wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and fairy shrimp, are called obligate species. Organisms that frequently use vernal pools but can survive in other habitats, such as spring peepers, gray treefrogs, and American toads, are called facultative species.
Wood frog egg mass discovered at Striar Snake River Preserve in Taunton.
Vernal pools occur widely across Massachusetts, wherever small depressions in the ground collect water in the spring. The important thing is no fish can enter the pool. Only when these predators are absent can certain frogs, salamanders, and invertebrates survive and reproduce there.
You can’t protect what you don't know is there. So, the state has mapped out where vernal pools might exist on the landscape. NHESP staff used aerial photographs between late March and early May of 1993, 1999, and 2000. Using stereo pairs (essentially two images, from slightly different angles, side by side), approximate centers of vernal pools were identified and then digitized onto the aerial photographs, creating a GIS data layer called “Potential Vernal Pools.” According to MassGIS, the data layer identifies more than 29,000 potential vernal pool habitats.
So how does a vernal pool go from potential to certified?
Potential vernal pools are based on aerial imagery alone. They must be ground-truthed to confirm a vernal pool community is actually present. With the right resources, anyone can submit data to help certify a vernal pool! MassWildlife provides guidelines for scientists, land managers, and community members alike to submit evidence for vernal pool certification. There are two certification methods: the obligate species method and the facultative species method. Since obligate species require vernal pools to breed, breeding evidence of these species, such as egg masses, larvae, or spring choruses, is a strong indication of a vernal pool. Evidence of facultative species is helpful, but not as definitive, so this method requires more information about the physical characteristics of the pool. As a result, the obligate species method is easiest for community scientists.
Vernal pool at Striar Snake River in Taunton.
Here’s how you can help certify a vernal pool:
Find potential vernal pools near you: explore the map here. Enter your address in the top search bar for local results.
Review the MassWildlife vernal pool certification guidelines.
Submit the necessary photo and video documentation to MassWildlife’s Heritage Hub.
All done! NHESP will notify you if your submission has been accepted for vernal pool certification.
As you can see, vernal pool certification is an involved process. You may be asking, what’s the point?
Certification can help protect vernal pools from human destruction or degradation. Some vernal pools are protected under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (WPA). That means that all proposed work that may alter these vernal pools must undergo a careful review by the local community’s conservation commission. Not all vernal pools fall under WPA jurisdiction, but several other state and local regulations extend protections to these sites, as well. Vernal pools must be certified by NHESP to trigger a review under any of these laws.
Stewardship Programs Manager Zoë Smiarowski wades in a vernal pool at Striar Snake River Preserve in Taunton in search for amphibian egg masses.
Given the somewhat complicated nature of the vernal pool certification process, what better way to learn the ins and outs than from the very organization that approves vernal pool certifications? In May of 2024, Wildlands teamed up with NHESP to lead a training at the Stewardship Training Center on vernal pool ecology, stewardship, and certification. Jacob Kubel, NHESP conservation scientist, and Matt Burne, a senior ecologist at the BSC group and Vice President of the Vernal Pool Association, led 15 land trust volunteers and staff in a seven-hour program, both in the classroom and out in the field. Attendees remarked on the excitement of discovering a salamander egg mass for the first time. I couldn’t help but agree. It's a magical, near-indescribable feeling!
Back at Striar Snake River Preserve on April 1, we found 77 egg masses of both wood frogs and spotted salamanders in pools throughout the property. (And that’s just the ones we were able to see, as we aimed to minimize disturbance in the center of the pools and focused when possible on what was visible from the shoreline.) Spotting and documenting amphibian egg masses feels like one of the most special experiences a person can have in the woods. Last year, Wildlands helped certify vernal pools on Duxbury Rural and Historical Society properties through a Community Stewardship contract. Even through some of the rainiest days of New England spring, the egg mass excitement carried us through!
Matt Penella, Town of Kingston Conservation Agent and Wildlands volunteer, searches for vernal pool evidence at Striar Snake River Preserve in Taunton.
Wildlands preserves are home to 10 certified vernal pools so far: five at Striar Conservancy in Halifax, four at Willow Brook Farm in Pembroke, and one at Brockton Audubon Preserve in Brockton. Dozens of potential vernal pools are located on Wildlands properties throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.
Previously, I mentioned that one of the strongest reasons for vernal pool certification is protection. So, what’s the use on properties that are already protected in perpetuity?
Indeed, vernal pools are safe and sound on Wildlands preserves. But certifying vernal pools on our properties gives our stewardship staff (and our supporters!) a better idea of the amazing natural resources we have the opportunity and responsibility to care for. Vernal pools are incredible features of our landscapes that support critical and unique habitat for some of our favorite little creatures. Spring peepers, wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and several other species rely on these habitats. We benefit from them, too, as they give us wonderful signs of spring. In springs to come, we hope to certify more vernal pools to teach our neighbors and supporters about their ecological importance and to help our community discover their otherworldly magic.
