Herp Update: Fundraiser, Herp Activity, Proposed Wetlands Rule Change – December 18, 2025

Our Annual Fundraiser Continues

We have raised over $16,000 since we began our annual fundraiser on November 11. This is 64% of our goal of $25,000. Thanks again to all of you who have already donated. We realize that for many of our supporters, there are certain times of the year when it is most convenient for you to donate. You can be assured we will be happy to receive donations whenever it works best for you. That said, if you have not yet donated but are in a position to donate now, donations can be made in a few ways:

• By sending a check made out to James S. Andrews to: The Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, 642 Smead Road, Salisbury, VT 05769 (your donation stretches further, with no fees or overhead expenses)
• Through our GoFundMe site
• Via our online shop or the PayPal button on our website
• If you need to donate to a 501(c)3 non-profit, you can send a check made out to Vermont Family Forests to: The Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, 642 Smead Road, Salisbury, VT 05769.* Vermont Family Forests is our fiscal sponsor, and they are a registered 501c3 non-profit.

*If your fund requires that a check be sent directly to Vermont Family Forests (P.O. Box 254, 14 School Street, Suite 202A, Bristol, VT 05443), please notify them that your donation is for the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, and please also contact us directly about your donation.

**Checks should not be made out to the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas. We can’t cash them that way.

Virtual Herp Activity

I must confess that the most interesting herptile I have seen since our last Herp Update was Gary De’Snake (above) in Zootopia 2. My wife and I took our granddaughter, Astrid, to see Zootopia 2 at our local theater. I was pleased to see a snake in a positive lead role. Gary De’Snake, along with a rabbit (Judy) and a fox (Nick) work to get justice for reptiles. It is an enjoyable and clever movie that you might want to take the youngsters in your family to. Even without youngsters, I think you might enjoy it.

Possible Herp Activity

Temperatures where I live are supposed to reach 50 F at around 6 AM tomorrow (Friday the 19th), along with some rain. I won’t be surprised to receive some reports of amphibians on the move. Looking at all December amphibian reports from two major crossing areas here on the edge of the Lake Champlain Valley (Morgan Road in Salisbury and North Street in New Haven), we have reports of 161 Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, 53 Blue-spotted Salamanders, 26 Four-toed Salamanders, 20 Spring Peepers, 13 Wood Frogs, and 10 Spotted Salamanders active on the surface during brief rainy thaws. Other species have also been seen, but only occasionally. Keep your eyes open, and if you are really motivated, you could check a nearby crossing area before breakfast tomorrow morning.

The Blue-spotted Salamander below was one I found among many I found one night in early spring, moving over the snow. I had to be careful that they did not fall into my bootprints and get stuck.

A Proposed Reduction of Wetlands Protections

A friend and colleague who works to protect wetlands asked if I could help spread the word about an executive order that opens wetlands to development in designated growth areas (and in some cases beyond, see maps). Under this new rule, wetlands within these designated growth areas that are not mapped (many) would not be protected at all, and Class II wetlands that were mapped would have their protective buffers cut from 50 ft. to 25 ft. As you know, wetlands provide many important ecological functions, including habitat for our herptiles. The Agency of Natural Resources is now gathering comments on this proposed change. I spoke in opposition to these changes at a recent public hearing. Those hearings are over, but comments on the proposed changes to the rules can be submitted by email. I know of a number of town conservation commissions that intend to write letters in opposition to these changes.

The proposed rules and materials for review are on the Wetlands Rulemaking site here.

Written comments will be accepted until January 14, 2026, and should be sent to WetlandsRulemakingComment@vermont.gov and misty.sinsigalli@vermont.gov.

Katie Reilley took the beaver pond photo below. Many beaver ponds don’t show up on our wetlands maps. As a result they would not be protected in designated growth areas.

Winter Work in the Office (Our Den)

During the winter months, most of our efforts here in the office involve entering data, reviewing and updating data, writing reports, writing grant requests, communicating with the public and other wildlife professionals, updating our website, and raising funds for our part-time staff. However, we have one part-time staff member who works 1/2 day every week for free. That person is Pam Groves. For the last 30 years, Pam has been a Research Scientist at the Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Pam has a PhD from the University of Alaska, where she studied muskoxen and a distant relative of theirs, the takin, in China. She and her husband have recently built a house in Shoreham. We are particularly grateful to Pam for helping us review and update our data.