UW’s Biodiversity Institute to Host Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project Training May 9

For those interested in helping track various amphibian populations in the Rocky Mountain region, the University of Wyoming's Biodiversity Institute will host a training session for community scientists Saturday, May 9.

The classroom portion of the training for the Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project will take place from 10 a.m.-noon in the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center auditorium. The group will carpool to a field site for the field portion of the training from noon-2 p.m. Attendees should pack a sack lunch and any field gear -- rubber boots, hats, layers and sunscreen -- and be prepared for a short hike into the field site.

The training will be required for any volunteers who have not attended the training before. Returning volunteers who previously attended an in-person training do not need to attend but are welcome to join for an in-depth refresher.

Registration opened April 1 and can be accessed here.

The Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project has been a community science project since 2014 and is one of the only long-term monitoring programs for amphibians in the state. It is a partnership of federal and state agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations and citizen scientists dedicated to collecting data on amphibians in the Rocky Mountain region in a standardized manner.

"Amphibians are one of the most at-risk vertebrate groups, so long-term community science monitoring programs like the Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project are great to be able to keep an eye on these vulnerable populations," says Mason Lee, senior project coordinator in the Biodiversity Institute.

This project specifically monitors the more montane wetland species, such as northern leopard frogs, boreal chorus frogs, wood frogs, Western toads and Columbia spotted frogs. The blotched tiger salamander, the state amphibian, also is found at some of these Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project sites.

The UW Biodiversity Institute has sites available in three Wyoming national forests -- Medicine Bow, Routt and Bridger-Teton. Ideally, Lee says there will be enough volunteer teams to monitor each of the catchments. There are 18 catchments in the Medicine Bow National Forest; 36 in the Bridger-Teton in northwest Wyoming; and 15 in the Routt National Forest in northern Colorado.

Some of the catchments can be difficult to access and monitor due to uneven terrain, downed trees, thick willows and wildlife, including moose in all three national forests as well as grizzly bears in the Bridger-Teton. So, volunteers should be prepared for conditions, Lee says.

Prospective volunteers from the Bridger-Teton National Forest area who are not able to travel to attend the training in Laramie should plan to attend the classroom portion of the training live on Zoom. Bridger-Teton volunteers will receive a Zoom registration link once they register for a Rocky Mountain Amphibian Project catchment.

Volunteer teams monitor their catchments twice -- in June and July -- during the summer breeding season. Volunteers record the species that they observe, as well as weather and environmental data. If volunteers catch any amphibians, they also can collect skin samples for disease monitoring.

Their data is used by researchers at UW and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to monitor the populations, Lee says.

Prospective volunteers can learn about the project and look at a list of catchment names and locations at https://mail.wyomingbiodiversity.org/index.php/community-science/rocky-mountain-amphibian-project/adopt-catchment or email Lee at [email protected].

About the University of Wyoming Biodiversity Institute

The UW Biodiversity Institute fosters conservation of biodiversity through scientific discovery, creative dissemination, education and public engagement. In this setting, scientists, citizens, students and educators come together to share a wealth of perspectives on the study and appreciation of biodiversity -- from microbes to poetry and ecosystems to economics. For more information, go to https://www.wyomingbiodiversity.org.