Warning, she brakes for tiny frogs

Joanne Schuett-Hames hits the brakes, or even stops her car, when she sees frogs hopping across Gravelly Beach Loop Road near her home. Clearly, she is in the minority.

When the fall rains descended on the South Sound 10 days ago, the sudden end to the dry weather triggered a mass migration of tiny tree frogs and red-legged frogs from their summer habitat back to the ponds, streams, wetlands and lakes where they eventually mate and breed.

Unfortunately for the frogs, some of their heavily used migration routes take them over county roads and directly into harm’s way.

I dare say, nobody likes to squish frogs with their car tires. But it can be a pretty common occurrence during the fall and spring frog migrations.

Bonnie Blessing, a self-described citizen scientist who has worked on frog habitat restoration projects in the region, tallied more than 1,400 dead frogs and newts along a one-third-mile stretch of dead-end Champion Drive near Scott Lake last weekend.

The Scott Lake area frog carnage was first reported by area resident Lawrence Jacobson who counted more than 100 dead frogs on Champion Drive during a Sunday stroll Oct. 14.

“I was kind of appalled. That’s a lot of dead bodies,” he said after returning to the scene of the frog massacre with Blessing.

Schuett-Hames knows how Jacobson feels. In her spare time, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife conservation biologist has studied two well-used amphibian migration corridors that cross Gravelly Beach Loop Road on the Steamboat Island peninsula.

She’s identified five amphibian species that breed in a wetlands complex near the well-traveled road. In 2006 and again in 2007, she walked the four-mile, looped road twice a month, rain or shine. She counted 950 cases of road kill with 90 percent of them amphibians.

“I’m sure a lot of these migratory routes existed before the roads and housing developments were built,” she said.

Marc Hayes, a senior research scientist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said conventional wisdom some 20 years ago suggested northern red-legged frogs migrated no more than one kilometer to and from their breeding grounds. Additional research revealed they can migrate 5 to 10 kilometers, he said. In populated areas, greater migratory distances equal greater likelihood of dangerous road crossings.

In the United Kingdom, a national wildlife charity called Froglife has operated a Toads on Roads project for more than 20 years, identifying some 880 migratory frog crossings. The group organizes local toad patrols which, in turn, apply for road warning signs to be installed at crossings. The patrols actively help the toads cross the roads.

Biology students at Cornell University in New York have worked with the Tompkins County Highway Department to slow down traffic on a stretch of road next to a wetlands preserve frequented by frogs.

And some communities, including Davis, Calif., have installed small diameter tunnels under roads for safer frog passage.

First things first. Hayes, Schuett-Hames and other frog advocates would like Thurston County to develop a data base that identifies heavily used road crossings for frogs.

“I’d be valuable to know where the crossings are,” Schuett-Hames said.

It’s possible Thurston County could add information about critical amphibian road crossings to its Geodata system, agreed county resource stewardship director Cliff Moore. If a group of concerned biologists and citizen volunteers wanted to work on it, the county would be willing to listen, he said.

Once identified, signs could be installed to let motorists know they are on a stretch of road frequented by frogs, Schuett-Hames said.

“Maybe people could slow down on those warm rainy nights when frogs are migrating,” she said.

Hayes had another idea: since most frogs migrate at night, residents in areas near frog crossings could minimize their night driving during peak fall and spring migrations.

What the heck. Let’s try a few new ideas to reduce the frog carnage.

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In June, I wrote a Soundings column about a joint venture between Madison Elementary School and the Olympia YMCA to teach basic swimming and water safety skills to the school’s third-graders this fall.

Well, the four-week program involving 40 kids just wrapped up, and school officials, parents, students and YMCA executive director Jake Grater said it was a rousing success.

Grater reported that 68 percent of the students improved their swimming ability, thanks to the eight afternoons in the YMCA pool.

A full 95 percent of the kids would now be able to return to the edge of the water or pool, if they fell into the water.

And 92 percent of the kids know how to use a personal flotation device.

Back at school, the teachers said the swim time helped break down social barriers between students.

Here’s an important note: On swim days, third grade attendance was near perfect.

“As you can see, we made some lasting impacts on a lot of kids who need that little extra,” Grater said. My personal dream is make sure every third-grader in our area learns how to swim.”