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Calling All Volunteers for Frog and Toad Surveys
RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan. 10, 2008) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is calling for volunteers to help monitor frog and toad populations statewide through the North Carolina Calling Amphibian Survey Program (CASP). Volunteers are needed to adopt a survey route, stop along 10 spots on the route for three nights out of the year, listen for 5 minutes and write down any frog and toad calls they hear. The data collected will then be compiled and used to assess trends in frog and toad populations in North Carolina and the Southeast. “Stop. Listen. Count,” said Jeff Hall, a Commission herpetologist and coordinator of the N.C. Partners in Amphibian Conservation and CASP. “If you know your frog and toad calls, it’s a pretty simple process that will help us tremendously in understanding the status and health of frog and toad populations in North Carolina and protecting critical habitat.” For volunteers who are interested in participating in the surveys but do not know frog and toad calls well, the Commission has a link on its Web site to an interactive quiz on frog and toad calls. To assist survey volunteers in running their routes, Hall, along with other Commission personnel, CASP volunteers and others will conduct free frog-call identification workshops across the state during the 2008 CASP field season. Visit the Commission’s Web site for details on the first five workshops that are planned for the Piedmont and Coastal regions. Additional training workshops will be added over the next several weeks for the Mountain region.
CASP, now in its third year of implementation, has 139 survey routes available across the state. Surveys will be conducted during the following time periods: Jan. 15-Feb. 28; March 15-April 30; May 15-June 30. Volunteers will conduct at least one survey on their route within each of the three time periods. They will receive a packet with monitoring materials and instructions. First-time volunteers who complete their surveys will receive a free copy of the Frogs and Toads of North Carolina CD and booklet, which was produced by the Commission in 2007. “With more than 140 species of amphibians, including 30 species of frogs and toads, the Southeast exceeds any other region of the nation in diversity and abundance of amphibians,” Hall said. “Conserving these species for future generations to enjoy will only be accomplished through the combined efforts of state wildlife agencies, such as the Wildlife Commission, conservation partners and folks who actively participate in programs, such as CASP.” Funding for CASP comes from the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund, the primary source of state funds for the Commission’s Wildlife Diversity and Aquatic Nongame programs. The agency uses this fund to supportnongame wildlife research, conservation and management, as well as to provide mandatory matching funds for federal and other grants. Nongame wildlife includes all the birds, mammals, fish, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, and crayfish that do not have a designated hunting or fishing season. North Carolinians can support this effort as well as other nongame species research and management projects in North Carolina through the Tax Check-off for Nongame and Endangered Wildlife. Checking line No. 26 lets taxpayers designate part or all of their state tax refunds to this fund. Since 1984, taxpayers have given more than $8 million for wildlife conservation through this funding mechanism. Tax season isn’t the only time to give to wildlife. Other ways to help North Carolina’s wildlife and their habitats year-round are:
For more information on frog and toad monitoring programs in North Carolina, visit the CASP Web site, http://www.ncparc.org/casp/casp.htm. For more information on the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, visit www.pwrc.usgs.gov/naamp/. |
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