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Vernal Pool Mapping Information
Related pages: Eelgrass | Fish | Shellfish | Herring | Roseate Terns | Vernal Pools | Wetlands
Its that time of year again. The spring "peepers" will soon be out. That means it is vernal pool time.
What is a Spring Peeper. It is a little brown frog with an 'X' on its back. Its scientific name is Pseudacris crucifer in the frog family Hylidae. It is one of several species of amphibians and other animals that make vernal pools special.
The Buzzards Bay NEP previously sent letters out to Conservation Commissions and other groups (sample below) to encourage them to make more of an effort to comprehensively map vernal pools in their community. With recent changes in the federal regulatory protection of isolated wetlands, this effort, as well as the adoption of local wetland bylaws to protect vernal pools, is needed more than ever.
To: Buzzards Bay Watershed Conservation Commissions
From: Joe Costa, Executive Director
Date: August 14, 2000
Re: Certified Vernal Pools
CC: Buzzards Bay Action Committee, Coalition for Buzzards Bay
As you know, the State Wetland Protection Act offers limited protection to isolated wetlands (1). One type of isolated wetland offered more rigorous protection are "vernal pools." However, to be protected under the state wetland regulations, these vernal pools must be state certified.
Attached is a map of Buzzards Bay watershed state certified vernal pools circa January 1999. As shown, there is considerable variation in the number of vernal pools certified in each Buzzards Bay Watershed municipality. This variation is not the result of the actual presence or absence of vernal pools. Rather, it is a reflection of whether citizens have organized in a particular community to map vernal pools.
In 2000, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program released a report on potential vernal pool sites in Massachusetts based on the interpretation of aerial photographs. You may have already received this report. The report included all Buzzards Bay watershed municipalities except those on Cape Cod (see attached map). As shown, many more potential sites exist than have been investigated and certified. Included with the report is a data CD with map viewer, but no hard copy maps. If your town does not have the ability to print these maps of potential vernal pools in your town, please call Tracy Warncke (508 291-3625 ext. 10) at the Buzzards Bay NEP office and request a map for your town. The Buzzards Bay NEP has a large format plotter and we will print a copy of the potential vernal pool on ortho photographs with 1 m resolution for your board.
To obtain state certification for any vernal pool requires the submission of a Vernal Pool Observation Form with documentation including photographs and locus maps. A variety of groups have been involved with this kind of work. In one Massachusetts town with many certified vernal pools, high school students have been mapping vernal pools as part of a class project. A copy of the Vernal Pool Observation Form from the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program is attached (visit http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhcvp.htm), along with some information from an educational site (http://www.naschools.net/teachers/vernalpools/internet%20sites.htm). You may wish to share this information with an interested citizen organization or educational group.
Enclosures: map-certified VP, map-potential VP, VP forms
1. Because of this fact, many municipalities have implemented local wetland regulations to better protect isolated wetlands. The Buzzards Bay NEP can assist municipalities in developing or revising local wetland bylaws and regulations to better address local needs.
Click here if you need the vernal pool certification form (a PDF file).
University of Connecticut website on the Spring Peeper, Pseudacris crucifer
Certified and potential vernal pools in the Fairhaven-Mattapoisett-New Bedford corridor (518K Gif file).
Certified Vernal Pools (208 JPG file)
Potential Vernal Pools, Plymouth and Bristol Counties (218K JPG file)