LIVONIA, Mich. – In a sure sign that spring is coming, Friends of the Rouge is recruiting volunteers for the 19th Annual Rouge Frog & Toad Survey.
Interested volunteers are invited to sign-up for the training workshop scheduled for Saturday February 27, 2016 10am-12pm at the Livonia Civic Center Library, 32777 Five Mile Road, Livonia, MI 48154.
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This will be the first and only training offered for new volunteers since 2014. Only veteran volunteers surveyed last year due to issues with funding and to allow time for data analysis. The data was examined to identify projects needed to restore habitat in the watershed and a report is available online.
To participate in the survey, volunteers must attend the February 27 workshop. Surveyors are provided with a cd of the calls and are assigned their own survey area which must be within the Rouge River watershed. Surveys are conducted independently on warm spring evenings after dark, several times a month from March through June. Interested volunteers need to pre-register for the workshop.
The presence of frogs and toads is used as an indicator of wetland health as the animals disappear when wetlands are too polluted. Diverse, healthy wetlands support diverse assemblages of amphibians. To learn more about the findings from the survey, visit the FOTR website at www.therouge.org.