Henry Street salamander tunnels

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Spotted Salamander

Henry Street salamander tunnels is a type of amphibian and reptile tunnel which was built in 1987 to assist salamander migration in Amherst, Massachusetts. Before tunnels were built, salamanders were often crushed by vehicles as they crossed Henry Street. The salamanders winter on the east side of Henry street, and they cross to the west side in the spring so that they can breed in the vernal pools which form. The salamanders that cross Henry Street are spotted salamanders.

In the early 1980s, volunteers carried salamanders across Henry street in buckets to protect them from traffic. In 1987 a drainage company in Germany heard about the salamander crossing: they built tunnels under Henry Street to assist the salamander migration. The town also still uses volunteers to help any salamanders who miss the tunnel; they also temporarily close the street when the migration is underway. There are two tunnels spaced 200 ft (61 m) apart, and they were the first amphibian tunnels in the United States.

Similar amphibian tunnels have been created under roadways in California to assist Tiger salamanders. Other countries including Sweden and Germany have been installing under-road amphibian tunnels. In Europe, the tunnels are called amphibian tunnels or "herp tunnels" (which is shorthand for herpetology, the name for the study of amphibians and reptiles).

Background[edit]

Salamander tunnel in California near the Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge

Henry Street is a two-lane street North Amherst, Massachusetts and spotted salamanders cross the street to get to their breeding sites. In the spring after rain and when temperatures rise above 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.44 °C), salamanders come from underground. They begin to cross Henry Street to get to vernal pools which form on the other side of the road.[1][a] Before volunteers began assisting the salamander crossing, it was common for passing vehicles to run over the salamanders, which reduced their population.[3]

To facilitate safer salamander crossings, the town of Amherst, Massachusetts created tunnels under Henry Street so that migrating salamanders could cross the street to for breeding. Salamanders winter on the east side of Henry Street in the forest, and they cross to the west side each spring.[4] The salamanders use the Vernal pools that form on the west side of Henry Street as breeding ponds.[1] There are two tunnels which are 10 in (250 mm) high and 6 in (150 mm) wide; there are slots in the roadway to allow moisture to leach into the tunnel system. In the forest, there are long fences that lead salamanders and other amphibians toward the mouth of the tunnels.[1] The two salamander tunnels are spaced 200 ft (61 m) apart.[5] The tunnels were the first amphibian tunnels in the United States.[1][6] They are designed like airport runway drains.[2]

History[edit]

In the early 1980s, volunteers assisted the salamander crossing by what was referred to as a bucket-brigade.[1][b] Volunteers waited along Henry street, and they put migrating salamanders in buckets to carry them across the Street. In 1987 a German drainage company (ACO Polymer) heard the story about volunteers assisting the salamander crossing, and they paid for a tunnel project under Henry Street.[1][10] The Amherst Department of Public Works, University of Massachusetts, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment and the Massachusetts Audubon Society supported the project. It is estimated that between one and two hundred animals cross using the tunnels annually. Some salamanders that miss the tunnels cross the road and risk being crushed by vehicles on Henry Street, so volunteers watch for them.[1] The location of the tunnels is known as "Salamander Crossing".[2] In 1988 fifty people came out to watch the migration when the tunnels opened.[11]

After the success of the Henry Street tunnels, the state of California built salamander tunnels under roads. The United States Geological Survey has conducted studies to see if salamanders are using the tunnels. They also determined that the correct distance between tunnels is a maximum of 12.5 m (41 ft). The study also determined that the barrier wall that funnels salamanders into the tunnels is more efficient if solid. Mesh barriers did not work as well.[12][13]

In 2024 the town of Amherst announced that they would close Henry street for two days (February 28 and 29th, 2024) so that salamanders would not be run over by cars. The town also installed temporary signs to alert drivers.[4] The Hitchcock Center for the Environment partnered with the town to arrange for volunteers to assist salamanders that do not use the salamander tunnels.[14] Many citizens of Amherst and college students come to watch the crossing each year.[3]

Other countries have been creating amphibian tunnels to reduce amphibian mortality. In Sweden, officials created under road passages with double-sided guiding fences.[15] In Germany, amphibian tunnels have been created to help frogs safely cross roads.[16] In Europe, they are sometimes referred to as "herp tunnels" the name for the study of amphibians and reptiles: herpetology. The European herp tunnels followed the same design as the Henry Street tunnels: fences and tunnels beneath roads.[17]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ When male and female salamanders meet in the vernal pools it is called a congress. The pools dry up in the summer so fish and other predators cannot survive: this makes the pools a good place for salamanders to breed and lay eggs. Normally fish would eat salamander eggs, but in the vernal pools the eggs are safe. The hatched salamanders can also thrive.[2]
  2. ^ In New Hampshire people still hand-move salamanders. The Harris Center for Conservation Education organizes a salamander Crossing Brigade made up of volunteers each year.[7] In New Jersey volunteers assist salamanders and other amphibians crossing roads.[8] New York state has a similar volunteer salamander assist project.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hofherr, Justine (25 March 2015). "There Are Teeny Tiny Underpasses for Salamanders in Massachusetts". www.boston.com. Boston globe Media Partners, LLC. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Daly, Christopher B. (27 February 2024). "For Salamanders, The 'Big Night' is Everything". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b Wompa, Amalia. "Amherst's underground tunnels allow locals to watch salamanders migrate". Massachusetts Daily Collegian. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b DeGray, Nick (28 February 2024). "Salamander crossing: Drivers prepare to stop on Henry Street in Amherst". WWLP. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  5. ^ Chambers, Neil B. (5 July 2011). Urban Green: Architecture for the Future. New York, New Yok: St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-230-33741-1. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  6. ^ Defenders (64 ed.). Washington, DC: Defenders of Wildlife. 1989. p. 20. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Salamander Crossing Brigades". Harris Center Making Tracks in the Monadnock Region Since 1970. Harris Center for Conservation Education. 18 November 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  8. ^ Wheeler, David (18 March 2021). "Wild New Jersey Revisited: Salamander Crossing – It Could Be Tonight!". Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Amphibian Migrations And Road Crossings - NYSDEC". dec.ny.gov. New York State. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  10. ^ Andrews, Kimberly M.; Nanjappa, Priya; Riley, Seth P. D. (June 2015). Roads and Ecological Infrastructure: Concepts and Applications for Small Animals. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-4214-1639-7. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  11. ^ Poon, Linda (21 March 2013). "How to Help Animals Cross the Road (or Canal or Dam)". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  12. ^ Western Ecological Research Center (WERC). "Research Spotlight: New Study Identifies Effective Under-Road Passage Designs for California Tiger Salamanders U.S. Geological Survey". www.usgs.gov. U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  13. ^ Brehme, Cheryl S.; Tracey, Jeff A.; Ewing, Brittany A. I.; Hobbs, Michael T.; Launer, Alan E.; Matsuda, Tritia A.; Cole Adelsheim, Esther M.; Fisher, Robert N. (1 November 2021). "Responses of migratory amphibians to barrier fencing inform the spacing of road underpasses: a case study with California Tiger salamanders (Ambystoma californiense) in Stanford, CA, USA". Global Ecology and Conservation. 31: e01857. Bibcode:2021GEcoC..3101857B. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01857. ISSN 2351-9894. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Big Night 2024. Town Partners with Hitchcock Center to Help Annual Salamander Migration - Amherst Indy". Amherst Indy. 2 March 2024. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  15. ^ Helldin, Jan Olof; Petrovan, Silviu O. (26 August 2019). "Effectiveness of small road tunnels and fences in reducing amphibian roadkill and barrier effects at retrofitted roads in Sweden". PeerJ. 7: e7518. doi:10.7717/peerj.7518. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 6714967.
  16. ^ "Germany builds $285,200 frog tunnel". NBC News. Reuters. 5 January 2004. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  17. ^ Goldfarb, Ben (12 September 2023). Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. New York, New Yok: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-1-324-00590-2. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

External links[edit]

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