Staff Writer

The Scarborough Conservation Commission is preparing to conduct their second year of vernal pool surveys and is looking for volunteers to assist.

Conservation Commission member Robert Jordan said last year was the first of a three year inventory survey the group is conducting in Scarborough. Vernal pools are temporary wetlands created by snow melt and spring run-off that are breeding areas for amphibious creatures, such as wood frogs and salamanders. He said surveys will begin this spring, either in late April or early May.

Jordan said vernal pools dry up during summer.

A letter from the conservation commission to land owners written in March of last year explained amphibious creatures born in vernal pools return each year to breed. Vernal pool inhabitants can live up to 15 years, traveling no farther than 750 feet from the pool. 

The letter explains the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in 1998 began to regulate “significant vernal pools,” with 40 or more wood frog egg masses, or clusters of eggs and 20 or more spotted salamander egg masses.

If a vernal pool were considered  significant, developments and fill activities within 250 feet of the pool would need a permit from the DEP. According to chapter 335 of the DEP rules, any permitted activity which takes place in, on, over or adjacent to a significant vernal pool must meet the DEP’s habitat management rules, as given by the DEP in chapter 305, section 19 of the DEP rules.

University of Maine associate professor of wetland ecology Aram Calhoun, who has been working with the conservation commission on the vernal pool surveys, said significant vernal pools are needed as wood frogs and spotted salamanders have adapted to the pools over time to make it their only habitat. She said if vernal pools no longer existed, then it would affect the number of wood frogs and spotted salamanders, as they would have to travel longer distances to find another vernal pool.

Calhoun said vernal pools also serve as a “little fast food joint,” for woodland animals such as deer and moose, as well as birds, which use vernal pools for water and feeding. 

The first step in the survey process is having aerial photos of Scarborough analyzed by Stantech, a company that identifies wetland areas.  Fred DiBello, a wildlife biologist at Stantech, said by looking at digital aerial photographs of the area, he could identify potential vernal pools. 

Jordan said DiBello then works with Aimee Dubois, the GIS coordinator for Scarborough Public Works, to locate the property where the potential vernal pool is located.

DiBello said aerial maps do not identify all vernal pools because if forest treetops are close together, visibility of the area is obstructed.

When property is identified, Jordan said the conservation commission send letters to property owners with information on vernal pools and ask permission for Jordan and a group of trained volunteers to survey the property.

Jordan said letters were sent to 132 homes last year. Of those, 45 responded, allowing volunteers to survey their property. He said he has not had problems with property owners while surveying the properties.

“We haven’t run into that,” he said. 

Jordan said there also have been no problems with developers or homeowners in regards to development within the 250 feet of a vernal pool.

The 14 volunteers who surveyed properties last year were trained by Calhoun and spent two, two-hour training sessions learning about amphibious creatures living in vernal pools. Jordan said the first training session involved a Power Point presentation on the definition of vernal pools, along with the creatures that live in them. The second training session included observing maps to find the potential vernal pool points as well as observing an actual vernal pool, which was located on the Larrabee Road.

DiBello said April and May are prime months to observe vernal pools, because it’s the time of year to get the most accurate count of amphibious eggs. He said if the vernal pools were inspected at a later date, tadpoles and larvae salamanders would hatch, giving an inaccurate amount of eggs for the pool surveyors.

Jordan said the conservation commission is currently looking for volunteers to assist in conducting vernal pool surveys this spring, with training scheduled for March. He said volunteers who conducted last year’s surveys visited three or four potential vernal pool areas at one to two hours per visit.

Jordan said all interested volunteers would need to be “fairly mobile” moving around wooded areas. For more information, contact Jordan at 883-3169.