2008 Woodie Awards
Salamander season is here!
Andy Gottscho
Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Opinion
If you like salamanders, northwestern California is one of the best places in the world to live, and February through May is the best time of the year to look for them.
In the Arcata Community Forest alone, you can find at least seven species of salamanders. If you travel around a little bit, especially to Mendocino, Del Norte, Trinity, and Shasta Counties, you can find twenty species of salamanders! No doubt many more species are waiting to be discovered; in fact, there have been several new species described in the region in the last ten years. With all this salamander diversity (not to mention the frogs and reptiles), its no wonder Humboldt State has a strong herpetology program and Arcata has an avid herping community (herp = reptile or amphibian).
When looking for salamanders in the wild, respect their habitat! It is common to search underneath rocks, logs, boards, and other surface cover while searching for salamanders, frogs, lizards, and snakes. For example, the numerous fallen logs on the disc golf course behind HSU are home to thousands of Ensatina and slender salamanders. If you roll a log or lift a rock, always make sure you carefully return it just as you found it, without crushing any animals (you should pick up the animal, put the object back, then let it crawl underneath). Always remember my old herpetology professor's saying: "If you break the duff, replace the stuff." Old leaf detritus and soil forms a moisture seal around rocks and logs. If you don't put the cover object back in its seat properly, it will dry out and it will be useless to salamanders and other animals. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a bunch of newbies flip rocks without putting them back.
Also, make sure you don't have sunscreen or other chemicals on your skin while handling salamanders and frogs.
Now that I'm done ranting, here is my brief guide to the salamanders of HSU and the Arcata Community Forest. If you want to learn more, come to the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Day, March 1st, at the HSU Natural History Museum across from Wildberries.
In the Arcata Community Forest alone, you can find at least seven species of salamanders. If you travel around a little bit, especially to Mendocino, Del Norte, Trinity, and Shasta Counties, you can find twenty species of salamanders! No doubt many more species are waiting to be discovered; in fact, there have been several new species described in the region in the last ten years. With all this salamander diversity (not to mention the frogs and reptiles), its no wonder Humboldt State has a strong herpetology program and Arcata has an avid herping community (herp = reptile or amphibian).
When looking for salamanders in the wild, respect their habitat! It is common to search underneath rocks, logs, boards, and other surface cover while searching for salamanders, frogs, lizards, and snakes. For example, the numerous fallen logs on the disc golf course behind HSU are home to thousands of Ensatina and slender salamanders. If you roll a log or lift a rock, always make sure you carefully return it just as you found it, without crushing any animals (you should pick up the animal, put the object back, then let it crawl underneath). Always remember my old herpetology professor's saying: "If you break the duff, replace the stuff." Old leaf detritus and soil forms a moisture seal around rocks and logs. If you don't put the cover object back in its seat properly, it will dry out and it will be useless to salamanders and other animals. Nothing pisses me off more than seeing a bunch of newbies flip rocks without putting them back.
Also, make sure you don't have sunscreen or other chemicals on your skin while handling salamanders and frogs.
Now that I'm done ranting, here is my brief guide to the salamanders of HSU and the Arcata Community Forest. If you want to learn more, come to the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Day, March 1st, at the HSU Natural History Museum across from Wildberries.
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