{"id":21954,"date":"2015-05-06T15:57:55","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T19:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=21954"},"modified":"2021-11-10T16:41:06","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T20:41:06","slug":"statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm","title":{"rendered":"Statewide inventory of Michigan’s reptiles and amphibians"},"content":{"rendered":"

For 20 years, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has relied on citizen scientists to conduct a survey of frogs and toads, judging the state\u2019s populations against a global decline in amphibious species. This year, the DNR is calling upon citizen scientists yet again \u2014 this time to conduct the Herp Atlas Project, the first statewide inventory of Michigan\u2019s reptiles and amphibians.<\/p>\n

The Herp Atlas Project isn\u2019t merely an expanded version of the Frog and Toad Survey. In fact, the Atlas is not a survey at all, but \u201ca collection of observations,\u201d according to Lori Sargent, project coordinator of both the Herp Atlas Project and Frog and Toad Survey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Herp Atlas was actually started in 2004,\u201d Sargent wrote in an email. \u201cWe\u2019ve been collecting observations so that we can monitor the herp populations in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Atlas Project began, most of those observations came from research projects or well-studied areas. Now the Michigan DNR is inviting anyone with an interest in reptiles and amphibians \u2014 known collectively as herpetofauna \u2014 to submit observations. Today, nature lovers need not send in a paper data card to share their findings; the Michigan Herp Atlas website and mobile apps make it easier than ever to record sightings and keep an eye on observations submitted from around the state.<\/p>\n

\"statewide

The spotted salamander is just one of many amphibians native to Michigan. (Credit: Brian Gratwicke\/CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Reports from underrepresented areas are of particular importance to the DNR, which is especially hoping to learn more about \u201cFowler\u2019s toads, mink frogs, [and] any species listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern,\u201d Sargent wrote.<\/p>\n

Unlike the Frog and Toad Survey, which sends participants along pre-planned routes to take stock of its eponymous species, the Atlas allows observations to be submitted from anywhere in the state in the form of a photo, audio recording or body part (although the DNR notes that no animals should killed for the sake of the project). Most of these observations will be verified by an expert, Sargent said. She noted that data from the annual Frog and Toad Survey is also added to the Herp Atlas each year.<\/p>\n

While citizen scientists are free to file reptile and amphibian sightings all year, this year the DNR is focusing efforts on its first Herpathon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Herpathon is a deliberate effort to collect data for the Atlas and to educate people about herps,\u201d Sargent wrote.<\/p>\n

Anyone with a penchant for citizen science can volunteer to attend the Herpathon on Saturday, May 16 by signing up at the Ottawa County Parks website.<\/p>\n

Top image:\u00a0American toad. (Credit: Brian Gratwicke\/CC BY 2.0)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings to its Herp Atlas Project via web or mobile app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":21946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,5],"tags":[13,345,60,291,290,109],"class_list":["post-21954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-atmosphere","category-featured-articles","tag-biology","tag-earth-atmosphere","tag-featured","tag-frogs","tag-lizards","tag-news-ticker"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nStatewide inventory of Michigan's reptiles and amphibians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings through a statewide inventory project.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Statewide inventory of Michigan's reptiles and amphibians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings through a statewide inventory project.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"AlexCard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-06T19:57:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-10T20:41:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/herp_toad.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"470\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alex Card\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alex Card\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alex Card\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26b12e34fff78267b1ccc6c845bed88f\"},\"headline\":\"Statewide inventory of Michigan’s reptiles and amphibians\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-06T19:57:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:41:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\"},\"wordCount\":453,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/herp_toad.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"biology\",\"Earth & Atmosphere\",\"featured\",\"frogs\",\"lizards\",\"news ticker\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Earth & Atmosphere\",\"Featured Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\",\"name\":\"Statewide inventory of Michigan's reptiles and amphibians\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/herp_toad.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-06T19:57:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-10T20:41:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26b12e34fff78267b1ccc6c845bed88f\"},\"description\":\"The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings through a statewide inventory project.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/herp_toad.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/herp_toad.jpg\",\"width\":420,\"height\":470,\"caption\":\"American toad. (Credit: Brian Gratwicke\\\/CC BY 2.0)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Environmental Monitor\",\"description\":\"Application and technology news for environmental professionals\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26b12e34fff78267b1ccc6c845bed88f\",\"name\":\"Alex Card\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/68f516a6f621e1e7c3ee835fdfdc36b6b92df79ffd9b51b04a9562f56733b5c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/68f516a6f621e1e7c3ee835fdfdc36b6b92df79ffd9b51b04a9562f56733b5c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/68f516a6f621e1e7c3ee835fdfdc36b6b92df79ffd9b51b04a9562f56733b5c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alex Card\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/fondriest.com\\\/news\",\"AlexCard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/alexcard\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Statewide inventory of Michigan's reptiles and amphibians","description":"The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings through a statewide inventory project.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Statewide inventory of Michigan's reptiles and amphibians","og_description":"The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings through a statewide inventory project.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm","og_site_name":"Environmental Monitor","article_author":"AlexCard","article_published_time":"2015-05-06T19:57:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-10T20:41:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":420,"height":470,"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/herp_toad.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alex Card","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alex Card","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm"},"author":{"name":"Alex Card","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/26b12e34fff78267b1ccc6c845bed88f"},"headline":"Statewide inventory of Michigan’s reptiles and amphibians","datePublished":"2015-05-06T19:57:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:41:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm"},"wordCount":453,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/herp_toad.jpg","keywords":["biology","Earth & Atmosphere","featured","frogs","lizards","news ticker"],"articleSection":["Earth & Atmosphere","Featured Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm","name":"Statewide inventory of Michigan's reptiles and amphibians","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/herp_toad.jpg","datePublished":"2015-05-06T19:57:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-10T20:41:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/26b12e34fff78267b1ccc6c845bed88f"},"description":"The Michigan DNR is making it easier for citizen scientists to report reptile and amphibian sightings through a statewide inventory project.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/statewide-inventory-michigan-reptiles.htm#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/herp_toad.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/herp_toad.jpg","width":420,"height":470,"caption":"American toad. (Credit: Brian Gratwicke\/CC BY 2.0)"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/","name":"Environmental Monitor","description":"Application and technology news for environmental professionals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/26b12e34fff78267b1ccc6c845bed88f","name":"Alex Card","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f516a6f621e1e7c3ee835fdfdc36b6b92df79ffd9b51b04a9562f56733b5c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f516a6f621e1e7c3ee835fdfdc36b6b92df79ffd9b51b04a9562f56733b5c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/68f516a6f621e1e7c3ee835fdfdc36b6b92df79ffd9b51b04a9562f56733b5c4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alex Card"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/fondriest.com\/news","AlexCard"],"url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/author\/alexcard"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21954"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33777,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21954\/revisions\/33777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}