New Species Projects for Reptile Rescue
By Dana Christensen, FoHVOS Land Steward
In 2022, FoHVOS received a private donation to initiate Reptile Rescue. The goal of this project is to reduce roadway risks to reptiles and amphibians in Hopewell Valley and support their populations. During the last two years, FoHVOS staff and trained volunteers have collected mortality data on high-risk roads, created and installed Reptile Rescue road signs in select locations, and led public reptile and amphibian programs for the public.
Reptiles and amphibians often cross roadways in order to gain access to the habitats they require, such as foraging locations, breeding grounds, and nesting sites. FoHVOS is focusing on three ways to help mitigate the risks these animals face:
- Research and Outreach- Research helps us understand the greatest areas of need, and allows us to make informed decisions to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency, while outreach allows us to share that knowledge with the public.
- Stewardship- Stewardship activities enhance existing habitats, and even create new ones, so
individuals may not have to travel as far to find suitable habitats. - Wildlife-friendly culvert installation- FoHVOS has been collecting data and working with multiple
partners to identify and initiate wildlife-friendly culvert installation sites. This is a complicated process that requires long term data collection, planning, and funding, but can provide safe crossing for a multitude of wildlife species on busy roads in the right situations.
Reptile Rescue continues to expand and gain momentum, which has led to taking on new and exciting projects for 2025! As part of the Reptile Rescue project, FoHVOS is looking at the rare species of reptiles and amphibians that call Hopewell Valley home, specifically Wood Turtles and Long-tailed Salamanders. This fall, FoHVOS staff initiated a Wood Turtle tracking program to locate and track Wood Turtles, a state-listed Threatened species in NJ. We currently have one individual in the study and will begin surveys for additional turtles in the spring. Very little research has been done on the population of Wood Turtles in our area, so their needs and the threats they face are poorly understood. The tracking program will kick off its first full season in March 2025, once our tagged individual emerges after winter, at that point our data collection and location tracking will be in full swing! A program like this is invaluable as it allows us to gain an understanding of their behavior and habitat use, which will help us identify and mitigate the human-related threats posed to this species to ensure their survival and increase their population.
In 2025 FoHVOS will also be adding Long-tailed Salamanders, another state-listed Threatened species, to our Reptile Rescue monitoring efforts. With their population declining over the past few decades, we were beyond excited to hear about a new confirmed observation in Hopewell Valley this fall. We intend to conduct surveys and monitoring to help map habitat currently in use by this species and identify additional habitats that could benefit from stewardship activities to increase suitability for them.
Throughout the year, FoHVOS staff and volunteers will continue to collect road-related data and perform stewardship activities to improve habitat quality and availability in an effort to increase population sizes and reduce long-distance traveling where possible. These stewardship efforts may include invasive species control, building gestating, basking, and nesting sites, planting native species, and vernal pool stewardship.
The Reptile Rescue project is a proactive and exciting addition to FoHVOS’s stewardship department. We know that although reptiles and amphibians don’t always get the love or attention they deserve, our community is behind us and is conservation oriented! We are grateful to have the support and passion of our donors and volunteers at our backs while we do our part to help these under-appreciated critters integrate and persist in our increasingly busy world.