A website all about VERNAL POOLS for the people of the glaciated Northeast and Midwest providing resources on: ecology, identification, regulation, and strategies for conservation developed from evidence- based science.
Our lab has been working on vernal pool education, outreach and research since the early 1990s when “vernal pool” was not yet a household word (either as a curse or a blessing!). Our partners over the decades have included environmental NGOs such as Maine Audubon, government agencies at the federal and state levels, Maine municipalities, land trusts, and members of the development community. Over the years we have developed and coordinated citizen science programs for mapping and assessing vernal pools, developed educational materials including videos and digital presentations, manuals, and children’s coloring books, and provided outreach presentations about vernal pool ecology and management to a vast array of audiences including town, state, and federal governments, garden clubs, land trusts, and annual meetings of various stakeholders.
We hope this website will provide the resources on vernal pool ecology, identification of pools and species, regulation, and strategies for conservation developed from evidence-based science needed for others to actively conserve pools either as a landowner or at a wider scale.
Ecology
Interested in knowing more about the life history of animals that use vernal pools and how vernal pools and different from other wetlands?
We provide a variety of resources for you including annotated powerpoint presentations.
Identification
Need help identifying the animals that breed in and use vernal pools? Want to learn to identify amphibian egg masses or how to tell the difference between fairy shrimp and mosquito larvae?
We have a variety of resources for you including annotated powerpoint presentations and identification cards you can print and laminate for the field.
Want To Get Involved?
Do you want more information on or experience with vernal pools?
- Participate in Big Night
- Steward your backyard pool
- Join a vernal pool working group designed for researchers and managers
Regulation
Would you like to know more about federal, state, or local regulations that apply to vernal pools?
Are you a landowner, town official, developer, or resource manager or service provider?
Management
Management strategies are available at many different scales from how best to care for a pool habitat behind your home, planning a forestry operation around your pools, or engaging in town and region-wide conservation planning.
Publications
Are you looking for more information about vernal pools? Their ecology? Conservation strategies? How to manage for vernal pools in a working forest or rural communities? We provide a breadth of current publications and additional resources for the public, scientists,and land managers.
Research
Interested in the research conducted to inform policy, regulation, and best management practices? At the University of Maine there has been a diverse team working on vernal pool topics since the early 90’s with collaboration from researchers and stakeholders around Maine and the eastern US.
In The News
Read about vernal pools as they make local, national, or global news.
Kids Corner
Looking for ways to engage kids in learning about vernal pools?
We have songs, comics, children’s books, and lesson plans to share.
Photos and Videos for Sharing
Looking for photos of vernal pools, egg masses, or amphibians to use for educational purposes? We are happy to share! We also encourage you to share photos with us.
Blog
Still interested in learning more? Our blog provides short posts on a diversity of vernal pool related topics written by members of our research team and our colleagues from around the region.
Contact Us
Thank you for you interest in vernal pools. If you need digital copies of powerpoint presentations or other materials, or if you are looking for additional information on pool conservation and the SAMP, feel free to contact us.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to all the federal and state governmental and non-governmental agencies, municipalities, citizen scientists and other volunteers, landowners, land trusts, and private businesses who have contributed to our advancement of vernal pool management and education.
We are also grateful for the research, educational materials, and photography of our faculty and graduate and undergraduates students over the decades and for their dedication to conservation of wetlands.
Fred Beaudry
Kathleen Bell
Dana Bauer
Rob Baldwin
Sean Blomquist
Aram Calhoun
Carly Eakin
Megan Gahl
Sasha Greenspan
Luke Groff
Tom Hastings
Kris Hoffmann
Jared Homola
Mac Hunter
Jessica Jansujwicz
Lydia Kifner
Mike Kinnison
Mary Beth Koloszvary
Vanessa Levesque
Leslie Litchko
Cyndy Loftin
Dawn Morgan
David Patrick
Kevin Ryan
Amanda Shearin
Dan Vasconcelos
Damon Oscarson
Terry Morley
Jesse Cunningham
Viorel Popescu
Robert Freeman