Must love frogs

A Delaware environmental group is looking for a few good listeners.

The Delaware Amphibian Monitoring Project is seeking volunteers to monitor frog calling.

Scientists believe frog calls are not only an important way to determine where different species live and how populations are doing over time, but also provide valuable information about our natural world.   

“Frogs, toads and other amphibians have received more attention over the last few years as scientists and the public have become increasingly alarmed over amphibian declines and deformities,” said Holly Niederriter, a wildlife biologist with the Delaware Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. “Because amphibians are aquatic for at least part of their life cycle, they can serve as important indicators of water quality and other aspects of environmental health.”

The Delaware Amphibian Monitoring Project (DAMP) is the local chapter of a national effort called the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program.

This spring, DAMP is seeking volunteers to conduct surveys of calling frogs around the state. Volunteers with DAMP are assigned a route in one portion of the state, and they conduct surveys by listening for calling frogs at stops along the route, where they record the species they hear and general number of frogs calling. A number of routes have yet to be assigned in Delaware, particularly in Sussex and Kent counties.

An orientation meeting will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 at the St. Jones Reserve in Dover. To find out more about volunteering for DAMP, contact Vickie Henderson or Lauren Johnson, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, at 302-735-8651 or via e-mail Vickie.Henderson@state.de.us or Lauren.Johnson@state.de.us.