USC Vernal Pool Program

What are Vernal Pools?

Vernal Pools (aka seasonal forest pools or spring pools) in the northeast are generally found in forests and are typically wet on a seasonal basis. In addition to being only seasonally wet, they tend to be very small, usually only fragments of an acre in size. Despite being small, Vernal Pools make many contributions to the forest ecosystem. Vernal pools are used by many forest amphibians as breeding spots, used by many mammals as feeding and watering holes, and in general are areas filled with biodiversity.

The spotted salamanders and other members of the mole salamander family are particularly important components of vernal pool ecosystems. These salamanders, like their namesake, spend most of their time underground and are seldom seen by the casual observer.

Spring’s first warm evening rainstorm begins the annual breeding journey of vernal pool amphibians. The salamanders emerge from their underground burrows en masse, and quietly work their way towards their meeting place, the nearest vernal pool. They can be seen on the forest floor during this journey, usually no more than a 300-yard trek from their burrow to the pool. But because salamander skin is sensitive to drying by the sun and wind, they are usually only above ground at night, and then only for a few nights during the breeding process. During the day they either remain hidden in their breeding pools, or return to the nearby forest floor, where they hide under logs, leaf litter, rocks and in other available protective spots. Within a week, most of the salamanders have returned to their underground homes, leaving behind clusters of 50 to 250 eggs that will hatch after about two months.

View our Family’s Guide to Forest Pool Visits:

Vernal Pool Resources:

We partnered with graduate students at SUNY ESF to develop this Vernal Pool Field Guide as an educational tool. Visit it for photos of many vernal pool species, as well as other herpetofaunal species in our watershed:

Vernal Pool Links

Vernal Pool Info

www.vernalpool.org – this website is full of resources for vernal pool enthusiasts including a blog, listserve (extremely active in the northeast), photos and even gear.

Ohio Amphibians Vernal Ponds page– a webpage with resource links and vernal pond species information

https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/vernal-pools – The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) page devoted to vernal pools

Vernal Pool Ecology and Conservation studies UMass Landscape Ecology Lab website dedicated to disseminating research information and resources

Vernal Pool Conservation – Vermont Center for Ecostudies

www.pwrc.usgs.gov/nearmi/ – This is the website for the Northeast Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (NEARMI)

State Vernal Pool Programs

New York – http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/52325.html

Massachusetts – Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program

New Hampshire – Vernal Pools – Wetlands Bureau – NH Department of Environmental Services

Ohio EPA Potential Vernal Pool Restoration Sites IMS – http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dsw/vernal.aspx

Pennsylvania Vernal Pool Program – http://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/VernalPools.aspx

Virginia – www.lynchburgbiz.com/virginiasvernalpools/

Vernal Pool Resources

Developing a GIS-Based Tool to Optimize Vernal Pool Wetland Mitigation Site Selection

Good Forestry in the Granite State: Vernal Pools and the Surrounding Forest

Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Northeastern United States

North Atlantic Vernal Pool Data Cooperative – Final report submitted to the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Vernal Pool Amphibian Monitoring Program

Protecting your Vernal Pool Habitat – a resource from the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences

VERMONT WETLANDS BIOASSESSMENT PROGRAM An Evaluation of the Chemical, Physical, and Biological Characteristics of Seasonal Pools and Northern White Cedar Swamps

Vernal Pool Best Management Practices document contains detailed BMPs and the reasoning behind them from the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program.

Vernal Pool Best Management Practices from the US Army Corps, New England District

Vernal Pool Reference List

in Alphabetical order

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Burne, M.R. 2001. Massachusetts aerial photo survey of potential vernal pools. Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA.

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Calhoun, A. J. K. and P. deMaynadier. 2002. Forestry habitat management guidelines for vernal pool wildlife in Maine. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Calhoun, A.J.K. 1998. Book Review. Northern Forested wetlands: ecology and management. Forest Science 44: 329-330.

Calhoun, A.J.K. 1999. Maine’s citizen guide to locating and documenting vernal pools. Maine Audubon Society, Falmouth, Maine.

Calhoun, A.J.K. and M. W. Klemens. 2002. Best development practices for vernal pools: conserving pool-breeding amphibians in commercial and residential developments in the northeastern US. Wildlife Conservation Society Technical Paper #5. Rye, New York.

Calhoun, A.J.K., T. Walls, M. McCollough, and S. Stockwell. In press. Evaluating vernal pools as a basis for conservation strategies: a Maine case study. Wetlands.

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Colburn, E.A. 1997. Certified: A citizen’s step-by-step guide to protecting vernal pools. Massachusetts Audubon Society , Lincoln, MA.

Colburn, E.A. 2001. Small Pools Close Up: Examining Vernal Pools of the Northeast. National Wetlands Newsletter 23:1 7-8, 17-18.

Colburn, E.A., ed. 1997. Certified: A Citizen’s Step-by-Step Guide to Protecting Vernal Pools, 7th ed. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, MA. 109 pages.

Colburn, E.A. Vernal Pools of Glaciated Northeastern North America: A Community Profile,”manuscript in preparation.

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Demaynadier, P.G., and M.L. Hunter, Jr. 1999. Forest canopy closure and juvenile emigration by pool-breeding amphibians in Maine. Journal of Wildlife Manage. 63:441-450.

DiMauro, D., M.L. Hunter. 2002. Reproduction of amphibians in natural and anthropogenic temporary pools in managed forests. Forest Science 48 (2) 2002.

Dodd, C.K.Jr. 2001. North American Box Turtles: A Natural History. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.

Donahue, D.F. 1997. A guide to the identification and protection of vernal pool wetlands of Connecticut. State University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System.

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Douglas, M.E. 1975. A study of three sympatric ambystomid salamanders in Bernheim Forest, Bullitt County, Kentucky. Abstracts, Am. Soc. of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists:38.

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Dunson, W.A., R.L. Wyman, and E.S. Corbett. 1992. A symposium on amphibian declines and habitat acidification. Journal of Herpetology 26:349-352.

Enge, K.M., and W.R. Marion. 1986. Effects of clear cutting and site preparation on herpetofauna of a north Florida flatwoods. Forest Ecology and Management 14:177-192.

Fahrig, L, J. H. Pedlar, S. E. Pope, P. D. Taylor, and J. F. Wegner. Effect of road traffic on amphibian density. Biological Conservation 73: 177-182.

Gates, E.J., and E.L. Thompson. 1981. Breeding Habitat Association of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in Western Maryland. The Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 97: 209-216.

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Gibbs, J.P. 1993. Importance of small wetlands for the persistence of local populations of wetland-associated animals. Wetlands 13:25-31.

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Kenney, L. P. 1995. Wicked Big Puddles: A Guide to the Study and Certification of Vernal Pools. Reading Memorial High School-Vernal Pool Association, Reading, MA. 58 pages

Kenney, L.P. and M.R. Burne. 2001. A Field Guide to the Animals of Vernal Pools. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. Westborough, Massachusetts. 77p.

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USC Wetland Team

Wetland conservation on a watershed scale