[Ocees] Amphibian migration - please read carefully

    Scott M Moody summonzeus at gmail.com
    Tue Feb 22 12:41:22 EST 2022 
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I have talked with two of the land-owners on Upper River Road and this spot has become much too crowded with people and vehicles to consider this a viable option for salamandering.   One of the owners who is a naturalist as well wrote:   "But students do need to know folks actually live here, and all the land along here is private property. I think city kids see wooded areas and make assumptions because they’re not aware. The walk (from Beaumont) isn’t so horrible, and we end up walking pretty far, all totaled. When one does work with nature, I think folks should expect a lot of walking…so they can just consider it a real life experience."

 Two alternatives would be SR 356 from Waterloo Wildlife Station (adjacent to SR 56 west of New Marshfield) going south to Minderal.   However the road will probably be flooded tonight.   Or go further west on SR 56 then south on SR 278  to Lake Hope SP, and where the road to the Camp Ground leaves SR 278 park; huge vernal pool, salamanders crossing everywhere here and across highway going towards the dam.   Also take the gravel road out to Moonville Tunnel, the ridge area before you drop down to Raccoon Creek will have thousands of salamanders crossing.    BE VERY CAREFUL, SOFT EDGES, VEHICLE CAN ROLL OFF AND DROP 100 FEET, before the Ridge the road may be flooded as well.   I have seen nearly all frogs and salamander species known to the area along this road.

Dr Moody, salamandering since  i was a kid

On Tue, Feb 22, 2022 at 10:01 AM Williams, Dr. Kelly < williak5 at ohio.edu 
<mailto: williak5 at ohio.edu 
>> wrote:
Hi All,
I would recommend parking at the Bike trail parking lot at Beaumont (just off 33 and 682 in the Plains) then walking the bike path south to River Rd. – just be careful crossing 682. The bike trail follows River Rd for a while and both places should be pretty decent.

ENJOY!

--
Kelly Williams, Ph.D.
Pronouns: she/her
Department of Biological Sciences
430 Irvine Hall
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701

From: OCEES < ocees-bounces at listserv.ohio.edu 
<mailto: ocees-bounces at listserv.ohio.edu 
>> on behalf of Viorel Popescu < popescu at ohio.edu 
<mailto: popescu at ohio.edu 
>>
Date: Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 8:56 AM
To: " ocees at listserv.ohio.edu 
<mailto: ocees at listserv.ohio.edu 
>" < ocees at listserv.ohio.edu 
<mailto: ocees at listserv.ohio.edu 
>>, " ouwildlife at gmail.com 
<mailto: ouwildlife at gmail.com 
>" < ouwildlife at gmail.com 
<mailto: ouwildlife at gmail.com 
>>
Subject: [Ocees] Amphibian migration - please read carefully

Hi everyone (OU Wildlife Club, please distribute to club members),

Today it’s likely to be a great day for amphibian movement. For the herpers out there thinking about taking advantage of this miracle of nature, please consider the following.

Last week, there has been an incident at one of the amphibian migration hotspots in The Plains, which involved OHIO students. The outcome, which also involved law enforcement personnel, left a bitter taste for everyone involved, including landowners, students and the Athens community at large, but most importantly for the dead amphibians squished on the road by the police cars called at the scene.

This is a reminder to respect private property, the privacy of people living near the migration hotspot, and the amphibians. Over years, there has been a steady increase in the number of people (including many Athens community members) driving or walking that road to witness the amphibian migration. The road itself and the bike path are the only public property in the area; the pull-offs and driveways are private property. Recently, many of those pull-offs have been fenced off to deter people wanting to check out the migration.

If you still want to witness the migration and enjoy a rainy-day walk, please DO NOT DRIVE on the road; please carpool, park your cars far back along the train tracks so you are nowhere near people’s homes, and walk to and on the bike path. Driving the road will inevitably lead to amphibian mortality and more trouble with the local landowners. Please do not block roads or entrances to private property, and please be respectful of the local people’s privacy and quiet hours.

This is a great educational opportunity for everyone, so let’s work towards maintaining good relations with the people living in the area.

Best,

Viorel Popescu
Associate Professor and Graduate Chair
Ohio University, Biological Sciences
107 Irvine Hall, Athens OH 45701 https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vioreldpopescu.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cocees%40listserv.ohio.edu%7Cec85801c89d24aee992f08d9f62a91a8%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637811484968025286%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=AKwOTvHqBHrWTlgxTkavcj61SAPWAL8vRzk5O5lI580%3D&reserved=0<https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vioreldpopescu.com%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cocees%40listserv.ohio.edu%7Cec85801c89d24aee992f08d9f62a91a8%7Cf3308007477c4a70888934611817c55a%7C0%7C0%7C637811484968025286%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=AKwOTvHqBHrWTlgxTkavcj61SAPWAL8vRzk5O5lI580%3D&reserved=0 
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Phone: 740 541 0105

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--
Scott M. Moody, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary and Organismic  Biology
Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies, Ohio University Athens

“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.”

Thomas Paine, a founding father of the American Revolution who wrote Common Sense, 1776
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