RICHMOND, Vt. (March 21, 2024) —  In celebration of World Frog Day on March 20, In Defense of Animals and Stone Corral Brewery hosted a toad trivia event to test Vermonters’ amphibian knowledge and spread the word about the amphibian migration season in Vermont!

This exciting night of toad-themed trivia celebrated frogs and other amphibians at the packed brewery, where informational flyers were handed out, and four people on the winning team left with unique frog-themed shirts.  

“We’re really excited to see so many people come out and show interest in learning about the state’s amphibians and how they can help, especially at this important time of the year for them,” said Katie Nolan, Wild Animals Campaign Specialist for In Defense of Animals.

One of the most critical points of a frog’s life is migration season, which starts in early spring on the East Coast, when the temperatures begin to rise above 40 degrees at night. The large migrations also occur with the first warm rains of the season. The juveniles who hatch will later migrate back out of the breeding grounds as well. Sadly, they often have to cross roads to get there, and many are killed by cars. Two frog and three salamander species are imperiled or critically imperiled in Vermont.

“Amphibians are an especially vulnerable segment of the animal population, and over one third of amphibian species are already at risk of extinction” added Nolan. “Frogs are an integral part of the ecosystem, and also they are just really cool, so it’s really important that we talk about frogs and what we can do to help them!”

Amphibian migration season will be upon us soon in Northern Vermont — a critical time to protect animals from vehicle strikes. We can each make a difference to conserve our local amphibians by avoiding driving when it’s raining after dark, supporting frog-friendly crossing infrastructure, or joining a wildlife crossing patrol. 

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WILDLIFE CROSSING PROGRAMS

The Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas gathers data about amphibian movement in Vermont to aid in the conservation of Vermont’s reptiles and amphibians: https://www.vtherpatlas.org/

The Harris Center For Conservation Education runs a Salamander Crossing Brigade program to ferry migrating amphibians across the roads in southwest New Hampshire, and issues a migration forecast each spring: https://harriscenter.org/programs-and-education/citizen-science/salamander-crossing-brigades

North Branch Nature Center monitors amphibian road crossing locations and is based out of Montpelier: https://northbranchnaturecenter.org/amphibian-conservation/

The Hartford Salamander Team helps migrating amphibians cross the road and records migration locations in the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire: https://hartfordsalamanderteam.org/

CONTACT: Katie Nolan, ‪(203) 823-8228, katie@idausa.org

IMAGES: https://bit.ly/ToadTriviaVT

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization based in Marin, California, with over 250,000 supporters and a 40-year history of fighting for animals, people, and the environment through education and campaigns, as well as hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, California, and rural Mississippi. https://www.idausa.org 

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