Join us for the 2026 Spring Migration Patrol!
After a long winter, spring showers bring back the liveliness of our forests. When the temperatures are warm and the rain comes at night, this sends a signal to some species of salamanders and frogs that it is time to breed!
They emerge from their overwintering underground burrows in forests and begin their treks toward vernal pools: temporary and shallow pools in depression spots that form from snow melt and rain. These vernal pools are special because they do not host fishes, which would eat amphibian egg masses. These amphibians return to the same vernal pool that they were born in, and some can live for 20+ years, returning year after year to breed. With the right conditions, sometimes you can see hundreds of amphibians migrating on a single night! This is a fleeting and unique natural event to be able to witness.
Sadly, sometimes that journey to their vernal pool is intersected by a roadway, which can result in high mortality rates. To address this issue, we organize road patrols for volunteers to help directly move amphibians across the roads and take scientific data that will help establish long-term monitoring and aid in supporting conservation measures.
Anyone is welcome to join our project. You do not need prior knowledge or experience with amphibians or scientific data collection.
We are primarily based in Tompkins County, but are also currently accepting volunteers in the Finger Lakes region on a case-to-case basis (dependent on if we have the time to scout for a site in your region if we do not have one already). If you are an organization that would like to rally volunteers to participate in our program, we are happy to talk as well!
Previous Data
Check out the data we collected in just two years! We base our data collection form after the Hudson Valley Estuary Program's Amphibian Migrations & Road Crossings (AM&RC). This infographic is a part of the 2024-2025 TCAMP Report.
Want to learn more and get involved?
1. Attend one of our orientations in the spring
Orientations typically happen in February and include in-person and Zoom. If you can't make it in person, you can watch our recordings for an overview of the program.
2. Sign up, sign our waiver, and pick up equipment
The sign-up form is typically open from February to March.
If you have a team already, let us know! If not, we can put you in groups based on your preferences.
3. Wait for an assignment and patrol!
We will let people know what groups and routes they are assigned to prior to sending emails about when the weather conditions look promising for an amphibian migration!