On First Day Of Summer, Salamanders Return To Middlesex Fells

They hadn't been home for almost 80 years, so you'll have to forgive the assembled group in the Middlesex Fells for spending the first day of summer celebrating a milestone.

Nine marbled salamanders were returned to the Fells Wednesday afternoon in a combined conservation effort of the Grass Roots Wildlife Conservation and the Stone Zoo. Marbled salamanders were last seen in the Fells in the late 1930s. But habitat loss and fragmentation combined to wipe out the population. Since then, conditions have improved, making the return of the tiny amphibians possible.

The three-inch long salamanders were released just steps from Hemlock Pond, a classic vernal pool across the street and a short walk from the John W. Flynn Skating rink on the Stoneham/Melrose line. Looking on was Dr. Bryan Windmiller, executive director of Grass Roots Wildlife Conservation (GWC) and Peter Costello, Assistant Curator of the Stone Zoo. Both men had clearly been looking forward to this day.

"It's a great day because I'm conservation biologist and I work with endangered animals and endangered plants," said Windmiller. "Most of the time we think of that being a pretty depressing deal. We're always facing situations where endangered wildlife is losing habitat to development or to various kinds of human impact, and yet here we're going in exactly the opposite direction. We're helping a rare animal become restored to a habitat that has been restored by human action. The Middlesex Fells used to be a much worse place for salamanders because of human impact. This is a day in which we're pushing the opposite direction."

This is the second year the GWC had released salamanders into the area, but the first year working with the Stone Zoo. GWC teamed with students at Medford High School the past two years and earlier this month the students released 16 salamanders into the Lawrence Woods section of Medford.

The salamanders arrived at the Stone Zoo from western Massachusetts in late January and staff have been caring for them since. The zoo had already been partnering with GWC on a Blanding's turtles project and adding the marbled salamanders made sense. Costello called it "a local conservation project that's right in our backyard."

Windmiller had nothing but praise for his partners in the project, not to mention the nine tiny salamanders, each of whom seemingly couldn't wait to scurry into their new home.

"It's a small animal but a beautiful animal, the rarest salamander in New England," said Windmiller. "In a small way we're trying to restore this rare species. We're less than a mile away from the Stone Zoo and the keepers and curators have a huge amount of expertise in caring for animals like the marbled salamanders. They all survived, they're all plump, good looking, and all have a great chance to live to adult hood."

With all the talk, both political and practical, around climate change, Windmiller pointed out the benefits of having salamanders, the main predators on the forest floor ecosystem.

"A forest with no Salamanders holds less carbon than a forest with salamanders. Salamanders actually have a significant role in our ecosystem in helping global climate change."

Another reason to celebrate their return.

Photos by Bob Holmes