WETLAND SCIENCE CONFERENCE
2024 Vernal Poolooza
Saturday March 26,
Field Trips
Field trip locations are likely but tentative, pending confirmation from various parties.
Field trip registration will be at the registration desk during the conference with final details provided.
Expect mud and standing water on most of our field trips. Please come prepared with clean/disinfected waterproof boots. Click HERE for disinfection protocol.
Field trip registration will be at the registration desk during the conference with final details provided.
Expect mud and standing water on most of our field trips. Please come prepared with clean/disinfected waterproof boots. Click HERE for disinfection protocol.
Salt Fork Dam Pool
Site 1: 40.104160°, -81.558377°
Trip Leaders: Livia Raulinaitis, Dawes Arboretum
9 a.m. to Noon
Visit this vernal pool at the base of the dam and check funnel traps to see what wildlife inhabits the area. Wood frogs and toads as well as Jefferson salamanders, and a variety of macroinvertebrates have been documented. There is ample parking at this site.
9 a.m. to Noon
Visit this vernal pool at the base of the dam and check funnel traps to see what wildlife inhabits the area. Wood frogs and toads as well as Jefferson salamanders, and a variety of macroinvertebrates have been documented. There is ample parking at this site.
Quintessential Vernal Pool
Site 2: 40.085916°, -81.484418°
Trip Leaders: Dennis Clement, Ohio EPA
9 a.m. to Noon
This is a small but very quintessential vernal pool off of Road 14 (the road to Salt Fork Marina, not far
from the park entrance) that supports wood frogs and spotted salamanders. We’ll retrieve traps that are
set out overnight. Parking is limited so consider carpooling or parking off the side road.
9 a.m. to Noon
This is a small but very quintessential vernal pool off of Road 14 (the road to Salt Fork Marina, not far
from the park entrance) that supports wood frogs and spotted salamanders. We’ll retrieve traps that are
set out overnight. Parking is limited so consider carpooling or parking off the side road.
Vernal Pool Design and Construction
Site 3: 40.135528°, -81.492750°
Trip Leader: Thomas R. Biebighauser, Wetland Restoration and Training, LLC
9 a.m. to Noon
Visit a current non-vernal pool site on Salt Fork State Park Property near Road 28 and before Hosak’s
Cave and learn about the important considerations that go into site selection, design, development and
construction to restore one! Participants will be able observe and assist with hands-on construction of a
vernal pool.
9 a.m. to Noon
Visit a current non-vernal pool site on Salt Fork State Park Property near Road 28 and before Hosak’s
Cave and learn about the important considerations that go into site selection, design, development and
construction to restore one! Participants will be able observe and assist with hands-on construction of a
vernal pool.
Salt Fork Identification Lab
Site 4: 40.105475°, -81.529184°
Trip Leader: Jenna Roller-Knapp, MAD Scientist Associates, and Marty Knapp, Midwest Biodiversity Institute
9 a.m. to Noon
Learn identification techniques of your Vernal Pool Amphibians and Macroinvertebrates
Get an up-close view and learn identification of common vernal pool amphibians and
macroinvertebrates from biotic samples collected prior to this lab session taking place in the Morgan
Room (3rd Level) of the Salt Fork State Park Conference Center.
9 a.m. to Noon
Learn identification techniques of your Vernal Pool Amphibians and Macroinvertebrates
Get an up-close view and learn identification of common vernal pool amphibians and
macroinvertebrates from biotic samples collected prior to this lab session taking place in the Morgan
Room (3rd Level) of the Salt Fork State Park Conference Center.
Great Guernsey Bike Trail “Reading the Landscape”
An Important First Step in Vernal Pool Construction
or Restoration
Site 5: 40.020162°, -81.546949°
Trip Leader: Mark Dilley, MAD Scientist Associates and OWA President
9 a.m. to Noon
Participants will hike the trail and learn tips and tricks to identify and interpret key indicators of
hydrology, soils, and plant communities to aid in successful site selection for vernal pool restoration and
creation projects. This is a valuable habitat for spotted salamanders. Guernsey trail is open to the public
and has parking available near Corduroy Rd in Cambridge (within a 20 min drive from state park).
9 a.m. to Noon
Participants will hike the trail and learn tips and tricks to identify and interpret key indicators of
hydrology, soils, and plant communities to aid in successful site selection for vernal pool restoration and
creation projects. This is a valuable habitat for spotted salamanders. Guernsey trail is open to the public
and has parking available near Corduroy Rd in Cambridge (within a 20 min drive from state park).
Salt Fork Kennedy Stone House
Site 6: 40.127616°, -81.498846°
Trip Leader: Nick Smeenk, MAD Scientist Associates
Hike the Kennedy Stone House Trail (1.7 mile loop), which was purchased by the State of Ohio and has
been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Walk along the wooded trail
overlooking a lake and explore vernal pools along the way.
Hike the Kennedy Stone House Trail (1.7 mile loop), which was purchased by the State of Ohio and has
been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. Walk along the wooded trail
overlooking a lake and explore vernal pools along the way.
