Vernon's Vernal Pools

 Wayne and I went on an egg hunt this week. I suppose that doesn't seem like such an odd thing the first full week of April; but what I was hoping to find was a few vernal pools filled with the sort of creatures that lay eggs in the water.

Vernal pools are an affirmation of spring here in Vernon. It's not all that unusual, once the late March snow turns to mud, for children and adults alike to be drawn to these seasonal pools in forest and field to search for amphibians. With last year's extended drought and upon noticing that in March, the vernal pool across the street appeared empty, I decided to pay a visit to the pool adjacent to the eastern shore of Lily pond. Though the pond looked to be at a good July 4th level, the pool seemed oddly small. I began to wonder what happens in years when depressions in the spring earth fail to fill with snow melt. Thoroughly stumped, I decided to "phone a friend" and ask. Taylor, a university student who has a special interest in and has worked with amphibians, said that adults will return to the same pools each year so dryer years are stressful. If there is another pool in better condition close by, some may hop on over to it but the entire population may be lost when an area is especially dry. 

"The average distance that a Spotted Salamander moves from a pool into the surrounding forest is 386 feet. Jefferson Salamanders may travel 471 feet..."*

Sometime ago along my nature journeys, I learned one of the most curious facts that I know about the inhabitants of vernal pools. Salamander nymphs, tadpoles and the like, somehow know when their pool is going to dry up. If the pool dries up earlier the amphibians will speed up development and emerge as a smaller adult. In years where the pools remain longer, development is slower and larger adults emerge. I think it's the same thing with long winters and me too.

As if I wasn't already concerned enough, Vernon's Fire Warden John E Wheeldon posted on our Vernon Facebook site, that a burn ban was in effect. With the odds seemingly stacking up against a bountiful season, we decided late in the afternoon to check out the situation again.

Why are vernal pools important anyway? Couldn't a Four Toed Salamander just as easily lay its eggs in the pond as in an adjacent vernal pool? Well, as anyone who has ever caught a pickerel ice fishing in the pond knows, a fish has got to eat! Since vernal pools are seasonal and don't have a tributary or distributary, fish can't access them nor can they survive in them . This creates the ideal nursery because without a way in, there aren't any fish to eat the amphibian's eggs.** Of course other threats exist to and within the pools and I can just hear Wayne in my head right now quipping, "It's a numbers game!"  While I have been focused on amphibians, NH Extension  lists twenty two species of insects, reptiles, amphibians, and crustaceans found in vernal pools. Additionally VT  Government wetlands document Seeps and Vernal Pools states it as a habitat for mollusk and copepod populations as well. 

One more confession before moving on, though I always associate vernal pools with the spring melt, the depressions fill in both the spring and the fall. I have kept you in suspense long enough. Our first indication that we were on the right path was this man made drainage system. 

Surely this is the sign I have been waiting for!

We quickly found the first vernal pool after walking on a slightly squishy part of the trail. Vernal Pools have plenty of fauna, but the general lack of presence of flora in the cup shaped basin with thick organic matter is one way to identify a vernal pool in the dry season. If flora is present within the basin, it is typically scattered. ****

The second area with standing water was elongated looking more like several pools joined together.  The soil around it was very wet. I'm unsure if this low wet land remains wet all year or dries up in the summer months. I have been concerned about this area as it has been re designated for a snowmobile trail. I don't think this is a problem in the winter with frozen ground, but four wheelers in this area is another matter.  As noted on page 308 in Seeps and Vernal Pools, "alteration of the depression substrate may affect its ability to hold water and disrupts the eggs and other drought resistant stages of Invertebrate life that form the base of the vernal pool food chain."* Additionally, compression on wet soil creates impassable ridges for small migrating wildlife as well as introduction of silt through erosion.*

Ruts from a four wheeler impacts not only the the food chain within vernal pools and wetlands, but they also inhibit movement within them as well as to and from them. 

This dry leaf and twig filled downward slope was dry even when I removed a few inches of cover

To the right of the above path was a third pool

 About 50 percent of plastics manufactured each year reaches the landfill and around ten percent of plastic is recycled. Micro plastic is in our food chain and found in over 300 aquatic organisms.***

A single use plastic bag floats in the small brook that flows through the area.

It's easy to see how wildlife can become ensnared in plastic or sickened from consuming it. Wayne also found a length of fishing line on the ground which is particularly problematic due to the ease in which it entangles wildlife. 

A critter found this egg before Wayne and I did!

In all we found nine eggs and parts of eggs. Wayne even found one still filled with candy.

One last vernal pool

One last piece of plastic

And a nearby trash can 

I'm not too worried about this area being picked up this spring as I know the caretakers and I know that they will be focusing on maintenance soon. The disappointment of finding trash on the trail was measured by my relief in confirming that this area of Vernon looks to have filled pools in spite of the condition of others in town. There is also new development near this area and that can be devastating to the wetlands if conservation measures are not taken to prevent negatively impacting them and this includes safeguards when clearing the land **** Responsible use of wetlands and land near to wetlands,  including seasonally dry ones like vernal pools, will help ensure that our wildlife both common and those of special concern will have a place to live and breed for years to come. 

So is "Wetland Season" a real thing? In my estimation no. While we may be more aware of wetlands when the Spring Peepers are serenading, our work of ensuring that these vital habitats remain healthy is a year round commitment to thoughtful stewardship. -Norma Manning 

Addendum; We found an egg filled pool in the RBWMA while hiking from Miller Farm to the town forest. Pictures of the poos and eggs are included in my subsequent blog 

Resources:

*Vermont Government Wetlands, Seeps and Vernal Pools

 ** UNH Extension, Vernal Pools

*** VPR Tiny Plastics Could Cause Big Problems in Vermont's Waters

****Good Forestry in the Granite State, Vernal Pools and the Surrounding Forest

 Bio Kids, Spring Peepers

Lang Elliott Music of Nature, Calls of Frogs and Toads of the Northeast.

*****WCS, Conserving Pool Breeding Amphibians in residential and commercial Developments in the Northeastern United States

Further consideration, "It is important to note....vernal pool is only one type of significant amphibian breeding habitat. Many types of wetland including forested swamps, marshes, margins of VT ponds, lakes and even man made farm ponds" *****

A Spring Peeper calls out in a Vernon wetland

Inspiration Is Where You Find It

 I was feeling pretty sorry for myself on a beautiful spring day recently. Self declaring the trails in Vernon to be closed due to mud season and with the ice being out on the pond, I really didn't know what to do with myself. With all of the sticks picked up in the yard, I decided that we should go on a bike ride. Wayne and I are quite a sight on our mountain bikes wearing jeans and t shirts instead of racing spandex like the tourists do; but I'm not even sure if a 57 year old should actually be sporting spandex this soon after winter hibernation. Anyway, my bike made the decision for us when Wayne discovered a hole in the tire. 

I asked Wayne if he would like to go in search of fox with me. Wayne is no longer confused by these requests but knows enough to ask me what such an adventure would entail. I was working on a blog about fox populations reducing Lyme Disease and I couldn't find my pictures of the kits we we saw on Newton road a while back. I tossed in that perhaps we could check out that five mile loop my coworkers are so fond of. Wayne agreed to the fox hunt, but put the kibosh on my plans for a five mile urban style hike. 

Here is the picture walk of our five mile hike.

Having walked Newton Rd so many times, It hadn't occurred to me to begin taking pictures of the scenery until we were on the east end (I was looking for fox after all). This picture is looking back to the west

It's pretty interesting what we can see while walking versus zipping by on bike, in the car, or even on Google Earth. Here are the tracks that cross Newton Rd. Truth be told however, I still wasn't sure that this was a nature walk yet.

We needed to make a decision once reaching rt.142, would we head towards the north end of Pond Rd or to the south end? Fire Pond # 7 made the decision for us!

Cattails are an important wetlands plant for wildlife. They also filter out excess nutrients that cause algae and reduce bank erosion. 

Fire Pond #7 was really weedy which makes it great for fish. Wayne spotted several of what he thought might be Rock-bass and then he saw a fish that was big enough to make a fisherman's heart go thump! For my part, I found my first frog of the season.

With the tracks to the west, 142 to the east and Newton Rd to the North, I couldn't figure out how fish got into the pond. The source of the pond appeared to be seepage under the tracks that formed a wetland and small stream; but admittedly it was too swampy for me to get a close look.

A pipe redirects the water to the pond. I couldn't locate an outlet for the pond.

Is there a wetland or brook on the other side of the tracks? This pipe peeking out of the soil seemed to provide a clue as to how fish might have entered the pond.

Decision made, we proceeded to walk south on 142. I found it funny that there was a caution sign for bikes on this end of 142 given that Pond Rd is 35mph versus the 50mph on 142. Even so, I was grateful for the wide strip of pavement to the side of the white line.  

Spring Peepers kept us company on this stretch of road indicating wetlands up the hill where the tracks were. To the east there were plenty of culverts emptying into ravines. 

A dirt road heads down to fields between 142 and the Connecticut River. It's amazing how many farm fields there are in Vernon. 

The most amazing things happen when you least expect them to; and no I'm not talking about the fact that Wayne and I squeezed through the narrow underpass where the tracks cross 142 and lived to write about it! 

As Wayne and I were strolling along wondering quite frankly what we had committed to, I happened to glance over and noticed a woman planting, "What are you doing planting peas?" This is how I met Nancy, a most inspiring and knowledgeable resident of Vernon. You may know Nancy form her stand from which she sells cut flowers. As it turned out she was planting Ranunculus. I pretended to know exactly what those were; but asked her how to plant them. It turns out it's quite a process requiring knowledge of storage and temperatures and timing.

I enjoyed a long pleasant conversation with Nancy in which she explained to me how to create a fern planter out of moss. Finally I had found someone as enthusiastic about moss as myself! It was soon apparent however, that her knowledge far exceeded my own. When I asked her what else she planted, she told me that this year she was planting four hundred herbs that she had promised to a farm to table man. I think that I may have agreed to do some weeding this summer in exchange for some of her plant knowledge.

Time to hit the road again and I recognized the next turn. We were almost to Vern-Mont Farm territory

I long for the day that I capture a decent picture of a Turkey Vulture. Oh well, here is a pretty good picture of Sumac next to the tracks and (sigh) a Vulture overhead. 

Wayne always seems to get away from me on our hikes, perhaps I spent too much time gazing at the sky?

Some things remain in the environment longer than we do.

Take a right onto Pond Rd

Here are some of those bikers we were looking for!

Just before this picture was taken, we saw the most beautiful sight in the front yard of a picturesque home. There on the hill was a father sitting in the spring sun with his two young children. That sort of thing gives a person like me a good measure of hope and joy.

A favorite view of mine on Pond Rd

Do you see them?

Newton Brook has been of special interest to me ever since I read that it is to be remediated by the state due to pollution.  Looking north where Newton Brook passes under Pond rd

Looking south east, the brook flows towards the fire pond by Vern-Mont Farm. Newton Brook reaches it's destination, the Connecticut River just south of the VT / MA border.

Newton Brook weaves in and out of these farm fields and under Pond Rd. My question remains as to where the brook actually begins. With a history of agriculture and development through the years, the streambed has assuredly been redirected. 

I recommend tracing the path of Newton Brook on Google Earth which begins somewhere near Scott Rd and Lily Pond

There is a sweet home near the road with a lovely horse barn. With the leaves off of the trees I noticed for the first time a beautiful field beyond their tree line.

It was here at this stone wall that I remembered that we were supposed to be looking for fox. What reminded me of our quest here? Well of course it was that weasels often live in rock walls and weasels eat mice. What else eats mice? Fox eat mice! We found lots of shade here but alas no fox.

Paying our respects at Tyler Cemetery

The hills appear to change direction here. 

We stopped at the corner of Plain Rd and Pond as our friends Cheryl, Peter and their grandson were out front enjoying the day. They had erected a life sized cross for an Easter reenactment tour. I asked Cheryl if it would be okay to walk along the edge of the field for the last stretch of our hike and she approved. 

This field is opposite of Lily Pond and Cheryl informed me that down at the end of Sonny Dr there is an old dump that she and her father used to hunt old bottles at.

The next road over is Newton Rd from where our adventure began. It's pretty much on the money a five mile loop. Wayne and I drove the upper loop this morning that goes north on 142 from Newton, up to the post office at Georges Mill to the north end of Pond Rd and south to Newton again. That loop is also five miles. Wayne isn't convinced yet, but someday we are going to walk the entire ten. With Vernon full into mud season and while the trails dry out a bit, it's a good time to look for inspiration where you can find it (even if the foxes aren't out yet.)- Norma Manning

If you would like to try one of the Vernon five mile loops, there is parking available behind the Vernon Rec on Pond Rd, at the post office / Georges Mill on 142 and at the Vernon Fish Hatchery pond on Newton Rd.