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Maine Big Night recruits volunteers to help shepherd amphibians, like spotted salamanders, across busy roads during warm and rainy spring nights. Photo courtesy Greg LeClair/Maine Big Night. |
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Amphibian conservation group dives into municipal planning
Mae Wyler first learned about big nights, those early spring evenings when amphibians migrate from their winter habitats to breeding grounds, while walking into the Marden’s in Ellsworth three years ago. On her way into the store, Wyler stopped to admire a woman’s tote bag that had a salamander design on the side.
The tote bag, the woman said, had been a giveaway from Maine Big Night, a nonprofit organization that works to conserve amphibian populations. In addition to conducting community outreach and monitoring road salt levels, the organization recruits and trains volunteers to shepherd species across busy roads during warm, rainy nights between mid-March and mid-May.
Wyler, who completed Maine Big Night’s certification process in 2023 to monitor a site near her family’s home in Hancock Point, is now a member of the organization’s board. She said the mission has changed as more volunteers have gotten involved with roadside monitoring. |
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Listening to this episode of the Odd Lots podcast on the fertilizer crisis created by the war in Iran, in which hosts Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway go deep on how fertilizer is made and the ripple effects of higher costs on farmers and food prices. |
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