Photo: Vernal pools created at Carantouan Greenway’s Wildwood Preserve

The Upper Susquehanna Coalition excavator operator is creating three vernal pools at the Carantouan Greenway’s Wildwood Preserve in the Town of Barton.

Vernal pools, which are shallow isolated pools of water, are critical breeding grounds for threatened amphibians such as our wood frogs and spotted salamanders. These temporary pools provide reduced predator sites (fish) and a variety of solar exposure and developmental rates for the tadpoles and larvae.

The project was only feasible with the cooperation of the Upper Susquehanna Coalition, Tioga County Soil and Water, and the Carantouan Greenway. The Greenway invites the public to walk its trails and visit these newly seeded venues.