Toads & Finches Up Close, Volunteer Trainings, and New Staff
As the weather starts to warm, we anxiously await the "thawing" of our warty neighbors. Soon, our fellow toad-loving volunteers will scour mountains and sagelands for the elusive boreal toad.
A boreal toad takes a swim in Hogle Zoo's breeding room. Credit: Hogle Zoo's Kayleigh Mullen
Our Boreal Toad Project engages community members across Utah in conserving these special toads. With the help of this army of volunteers, scientists can get a better grasp on how the toads are doing and what habitats and species to prioritize for conservation.
Past Sageland Collaborative intern Sarah Baldwin shared her experience on the project and beyond, saying:
I'm grateful for all of the experience and great memories I was able to have at [Sageland Collaborative]! Where I work, there is a population of boreal toads that are notable for their ability to live with chytrid—a fungus deadly to many amphibians—with no significant impacts on fitness. During 2021, I conducted surveys of this population and later helped with both the capture of boreal toad tadpoles and the release of metamorphs!
I loved doing this work and attribute one of the reasons I was hired for this job to my experience surveying boreal toads at [Sageland]. Thank you for the opportunity, and I hope your upcoming field season goes well!
Photos taken by past intern Sarah Baldwin. Left: toadlets. Center: a boreal toad. Right: Sarah Baldwin in the field.
You can join this growing group who cares about amphibian conservation by attending our virtual training on April 28! Register below to receive the Zoom link. A recording will be sent to all registrants after the training, so even if you're unavailable that day, you can still join.
Announcing: New Team Member!
Carter surveys for boreal toads. Credit: Sarah Woodbury
We're excited to welcome Carter Boyd to our team as part-time Communications Specialist! Carter is a writer and photographer from Texas. He has spent a lot of time on rivers and has a deep love of pecan trees.
Pollinator Training -TOMORROW
Adopt a butterfly site for the season or record monarchs and bumblebees whenever you see them.
Wasatch Wildlife Image Analysis
Our field volunteer list is full, but we need lots of help analyzing wildlife images from last year. Join from any computer.
Earth Day Planting - APRIL 22
Plant riparian plants with us on Earth Day in support of our amazing pollinators and the health of our streams.
Utah Herp Search (New!)
Be part of our new project helping amphibians and reptiles across Utah. Learn how to join from your home!
Biodiversity Challenge: Call for Submissions
We're almost halfway through our Biodiversity Challenge! Join us as we celebrate biodiversity, or the variety of life around us. This lasts during the month of April, which houses both Earth Day and Poetry Month.
Photo by Rob Tolley
What: Learn about western biodiversity, join one of our projects, or engage with plants, places, animals, or life around you in some way. Then, submit something that reflects the life and places in the West that you love most. You can submit poetry, visual art, music, film, dance, photography, or another type of work. Submissions are due April 30, 2022.
Who: Anyone can submit. Whether you’ve practiced art all your life or this is your first attempt, we want to hear from you. All submissions related to biodiversity in the West are welcome.
Why: Our hope is to celebrate and connect with what’s around us. We’ll be selecting a few submissions to specifically honor with awards, but we’ll share and honor as many as we can on our social media, emails, website, and other communications.
How: Fill out our online submission form and attach your work.
If you have trouble submitting or have questions, please contact us.
Learn More
Up Close with Rosy-Finches
In March, conservation ecologist Janice Gardner joined partners to band rosy-finches as part of our Rosy-Finch Project.
A rosy-finch is carefully banded by biologists. Credit: Janice Gardner
As one aspect of the larger project, rosy-finches are captured and given a numbered leg band and a colored RFID (radio frequency identification) leg band. After a bird is released, special feeders placed throughout its range record the unique code on its RFID leg band when it lands on a feeder.
Conservation ecologist Janice Gardner tags a rosy-finch to track population movement and habitat.
Why is this important? By getting systematic and repeated counts of rosy-finches, we hope to learn more about populations of rosy-finches, which are mysterious birds found in rugged alpine habitats. Through working groups and partnerships, we can then use this knowledge to effectively conserve this unique bird.
This work is only possible because of you—our volunteers and donors—and our partners at Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Tracy Aviary, US Forest Service, Friends of Alta, and Alta Environmental Center. Thank you!
Volunteer of the Month: David Faike
Dave Faike with his good friends the rosy-finches. Photo courtesy of Dave.
April's Volunteer of the Month is David Faike! Dave has been interacting with rosy-finches for over 25 years. Learn more about his experience in our blog post below.
Thank you for your passion for wildlife and lands in the West! To support conservation in the places you love, donate today.
Visit the project page on our website or connect with us on social media (see links below) to learn more about our conservation work, and please contact us with any questions or suggestions.