Consider The Spotted Salamander

So easy to miss, yet salamanders are pure magic to view, if you take the time to look for them.

Amphibians, such as this spotted salamander that appeared one spring in Killingworth, Connecticut, tell volumes about the health of the world in which they live. Since they have permeable skin, salamanders literally inhale their environment through their skin. Toxins, such as insecticides or weed killer used in yards can mean no more salamanders. (Read more about this at www.thedailygreen.com.)

The Connecticut Amphibian Monitoring Project (CAMP) started in 1998 and is a long-term study to assess population trends taking place in Connecticut over a 15-year period.

From the CAMP site: "Volunteers are trained to identify the 22 species of amphibians native to Connecticut and on how to use standard amphibian census techniques, like frog call surveys, salamander cover searches and night road transects for migrating amphibians.

"Information gathered from the project will provide a baseline for analyzing changes in relative species diversity and abundance of Connecticut amphibian populations."

Partners in this project include Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Kellogg Environmental Center, and Connecticut Audubon in the Northeast Corner. Also, Menunkatuck Audubon Society, Pfizer Teacher Resource Center, Sacred Heart University, Science Center of Connecticut, and Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

A comprehensive site about salamanders (including a sound clip of the noise they make) is http://ctamp.homestead.com/MoleSallies.html.

Do You Speak Trout?

Trout indicate the health of the waters in which they swim.

Trout in the Classroom (TIC) is a program sponsored by Trout Unlimited (TU), with the financial assistance of members, civic groups, PTAs, business leaders and private individuals.

An aquarium to incubate trout eggs is set up in a classroom with the help of a program coordinator. Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) furnishes fertilized eggs and feed; TU volunteers provide training and assistance to teachers. A coordinator obtains permits, delivers the eggs, and coordinates volunteers to serve as mentors.

Day by day, students help feed and care for the growing fry (that's what young fish are called), make observations, and learn about the language of trout, how they migrate and how trout populations can indicate the health of an environment.

At the end of the program in spring, the students and teacher make a field trip to release their trout fry (juvenile fish) into a state-approved body of water.

Trout Unlimited was created on Michigan’s Au Sable River 50 years ago with the intent to promote catch and release fishing practices and to create and preserve healthy habitat for trout. The organization is now the largest coldwater conservation organization in the U.S. and has 140,000 members, and more than 400 chapters.