Press Release Of The Day: City Approves Detour for Toad Migration
Hundreds of Toads Migrate Across Hagys Mill Road Toward the Reservoir
PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 16th) The Philadelphia Streets Department just issued a permit to close Eva Street and part of Port Royal for the annual toad migration in Upper Roxborough. The streets will be closed during the main migration, one spring evening when the weather conditions are warm and wet. Exactly when will this occur? No one knows. It’s up to the toads! Volunteer toad spotters will alert the authorities once the migration begins.
Each spring, between mid-March and late-April, hundreds of toads migrate from the forest at the Schuylkill Center For Environmental Education (SCEE) across Hagys Mill and Port Royal roads. They also migrate from the surrounding woods across Eva Street. These toads are headed towards the Roxborough Reservoir to mate. Their journey is a dangerous one, since they cross at night and must evade oncoming traffic. Hundreds of commuters who seek to avoid lights on Ridge Avenue travel these roads daily. For the past three years, the toad population has steadily declined due to traffic fatalities. Witnesses report 50% fewer toads migrating each year. On the main migration night in 2008, 100 dead toads were counted on the road while only 25 were observed crossing the road over a two-hour period. With community help, toads can safely cross the road again. Toads are very important members of the food chain in our area. The entire ecosystem depends on their survival.
You know, you can blame a lot of things on the Streets Department. But there’s one thing that you won’t be able to blame on them this year, and that’s the failure of the entire ecosystem. Rest of the release after the jump.
The DETOUR Project (Detour for Emerging Toads Of Upper Roxborough) is an effort to protect toads as they migrate to and from their breeding ground each year and to raise public awareness about the migration. The DETOUR Committee is composed of local citizens and officials from various agencies (Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Mobilization For Animals Pennsylvania, Fairmount Park, Applied Ecological Services, Residents of Shawmont Valley Association, Philadelphia Police Department 5th District, Philadelphia Streets Department). The Committee will initiate new policies improving migration safety for local toads, such as temporary road detours on evenings of heavy migration, and educate the public about migration safety. Community volunteers will alert local officials about the start and end of the migration. Signs will detour oncoming traffic towards alternate routes during the migration. Students from Green Woods Charter School made signs and barricades to block the roads and alert commuters about the migration.
How to Get Involved: If you are concerned about toads, please help protect them during their annual migration by joining the DETOUR Committee. Volunteers are needed to place barricades and signs, distribute Toad Migration leaflets to commuters, count migrating toads, and help toads safely cross the road. We will add you to our phone/email tree to be on call during the migration. You can sign up as a Committee Member or Community Volunteer by contacting DETOUR Coordinator, Lisa Levinson: 215-620-2130, lisa@publiceyephilly.org
March 16th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
this is so beautiful. how can some us kill each other while some of us go out of their way to help and save toads? sometimes we can be amazing.
March 16th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I doubt they’re toads. Fowler’s toads amd American toad don’t get going until late May.
They’re probably Hyla crucifer, or Spring Peepers: little brown tree frogs that start up their mating shenanigans in early March. They’re a tad (em) late this year.
But yeah: get out there and help. We’ll also need a hand with turtles in May, which cross the area’s roads to mate and lay eggs. Diamonback Terrapins are especially vulnerable in late spring/early summer.