The Laramie Salamander Migration Initiative will promote education and protection for Wyoming’s only native salamander: the Western tiger salamander.
Every year, the salamanders migrate from homes around Laramie’s LaBonte park into the park’s pond to breed and lay eggs. The salamanders are most active from March-September and migrate across roads to the park on rainy nights.
“When you think of Wyoming, you think of wind, you think of cold- not really places where amphibians could survive,” Senior Project Coordinator of the Biodiversity Institute Mason Lee said.
“The salamanders are really special and they’re able to survive here because they are in a family of salamanders called Ambystomatidae, so they spend most of their time underground.”
Because the salamanders are rarely above ground, many Laramie residents aren’t aware of their existence.
“They’re underground all the time and when they are active, they’re nocturnal, so unless you’re outside on a rainy night, you’re not usually going to see an adult,” Lee said.
One of the goals of the initiative is to bring awareness to the population and encourage people to help the salamanders migrate.
Last year, volunteers helped around 250 salamanders cross roads to get to LaBonte park.
This year, Laramie residents have signed up in force to help the salamanders.
“We’ve had over a hundred volunteers sign up for migration night, so it’s really running through the community,” Lee said.
The salamanders face many challenges in their journey to the pond, including cold weather, threats from traffic as they cross roads, and predators like cats and dogs.
Lee said that because amphibians are ectotherms, their body temperatures usually reflect that of their environment.
“When it gets really cold, they become really vulnerable to predators because they can’t move as quickly,” Lee said.
Lee hopes that creating the initiative will encourage residents to slow down as they drive near LaBonte park.
Junior Jami Oyster signed up to volunteer with the migration in order to help the salamander population thrive.
“As more land gets developed, it gets harder for them to migrate on their own safely. It’s important so they can remain a part of the ecosystem,” Oyster said.
Oyster said that raising awareness was an important part of preserving the salamanders.
“I think if more people knew about them, more people would be involved, but there isn’t a lot of knowledge so people just don’t look into it,” Oyster said.
In addition to helping with migration, the Initiative will also seek to monitor the salamanders to learn more about the salamanders and especially about the urban population.
There will be a website in order for residents to report salamander sightings, as well as an outreach event called Salamander Saturday on April 9.
The event will include storytime, crafts, and games at the Albany County Public Library as well as other presentations about salamanders and amphibians.
“The point of salamander Saturday is to really get people excited that we have such a cool amphibian in town,” Lee said.
