Highland Conservancy

Huron Valley Earth Day by Katheryn Krupa

 

The Highland Conservancy sponsored a poster contest for elementary students in Huron Valley to promote Huron Valley's earth day festival coming up April 17, 2011 from noon-4 at Carls YMCA in Milford.  The theme of the contest was: Live Green:  Use Environmentally Friendly Practices for a healthier earth.  The first place winner was Kellie Hope of Oxbow Community School who won $50.  The second place winner was Gillian James of Country Oaks who won $25, and third place went to Ashley Welch of Oxbow who won $15.  This years events will be family centered with fun art activities, games, interesting booths, music and much more.  Visit the Huron Valley Green Team website for more information on earth day activities or to volunteer: http://www.greenteamofhuronvalley.com/

 
 

 

Frog and Toad Survey Jumps off in Highland by Katheryn Krupa

 

This spring, volunteers from the Highland Conservancy will again be conducting a frog and toad survey at different sites throughout Highland, including Highland Oaks. Michigan is home to several rare and endangered frogs and we will be listening carefully to see if we can locate some of these in our area. Amphibians such as frogs are indicator species.  That is, they can indicate the health or decline of our natural environment.  This survey is part of Michigan's annual frog and toad survey established in 1988 by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  Thousands of volunteers will be crouching in mucky swamps and meandering through woodlands to identify calls from Michigan's 13 different native species of frogs and toads. 

Lori Sargent, the survey coordinator, reports that frogs and toads are ecologically important because they control insects and feed other wildlife. "And because amphibians are sensitive to environmental quality, they provide an early-warning system for declining ecosystem health", she said.

“They’re a first response to problems in the water,” Sargent said. “And this is a group of species that have been around since the dinosaurs. They’re pretty resilient, so if we’re seeing a decline now, it could be serious.”

Unfortunately, frogs are declining.  TV actor and spokesperson Jeff Corwin has reported on the mass decline of worldwide amphibian populations recently.  In tropical areas, frogs are being killed off by a fungus, with entire species being wiped out as this menace has relentlessly spread from pool to pool.  From the rocky streams of coastal Australia to the jungles of South America, and even to the American West, the world's frogs are vanishing at alarming rates. Frogs and their relatives have thrived on earth for more than 360 million years, but now they're under serious threat. Experts believe that as many as one-third to one-half of the planet's 6,000 amphibian species are in danger of disappearing — victims of one of the most significant mass extinctions since the dinosaurs.  

Here in Michigan, the DNR and local conservation groups are working hard to collect and analyze data to better understand and protect these animals locally.  To take part in Highland's frog and toad survey or for more info, call Ron at: 248-887-7125.  To find out more on the global work to protect these amphibians, visit:

http://www.amphibianark.org/