Vernal pools are unique wildlife habitats best known for the amphibians and invertebrate animals that breed in them. They support rich and diverse invertebrate faunas; Elizabeth Colburn's book "Vernal Pools, Natural History and Conservation" states: "More than 550 species of multicellular animals have been reported from northeastern vernal pools. If animals that have been identified only to the family or generic level are included, the number exceeds 700."
Vernal pools have variable hydroperiods - that is, many fill with water during the fall and persist throughout the winter, while others remain flooded into the summer and/or do not dry out every year. These periodic dry periods prevent fish from establishing permanent breeding populations. Animals that only breed in vernal pools ("obligate species") have evolved breeding strategies that are intolerant of fish predation. any obligate species, including wood frogs (live 3-5 years) and mole salamanders (live 20+ years), return to the same breeding pool year after year. Vernal pool-breeding frogs and salamanders live in the uplands that surround their breeding pools during the majority of the year. These species only visit their breeding pools for a few weeks during the spring and will often migrate more than six hundred feet away after breeding is completed. Retaining/protecting the non-breeding upland habitat around vernal pools is essential to protecting the species that breed in them.
Locating and certifying vernal pools (through the Mass Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program ["NHESP"]) is only the first step to protecting them. In Foxborough, the Wetlands Protection Bylaw (Chapter 267) safeguards our vernal pools' water quality and inhabitants by protecting the 100-foot upland area around vernal pools as a "no build, no disturb zone" (buffer zone). However, this 100-foot buffer zone should be considered a bare-minimum protection, since it only preserves a small percent of our obligate species' critical upland habitats.
To date, at least 14 of Foxborough's vernal pools have been officially certified, but many more have been documented and are in the process of being certified. According to the NHESP, Foxborough has at least 150 potential vernal pools, but the Conservation Manager (a vernal pool "expert") believes that there are at least double that number of vernal pools in town!
Conservation Commissioners and the Conservation Manager often find and certify vernal pools during their regular course of business. Please call the Conservation Department directly for more information on certified vernal pools in your area at 508-543-1251.
Please help us protect Foxborough's vernal pools by learning more about them and getting out to certify the vernal pools in your favorite areas!
The Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program website allows you to view maps of certified and potential vernal pools in your area. The Certified Vernal Pool (CVP) and Potential Vernal Pool (PVP) data could be useful in identifying potential spots in Massachusetts where you might find vernal pools and their associated critters.
The Berkshire Environmental Action Team has created an excellent
tutorial video on how to certify a vernal pool in MA.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Foxborough's Conservation Department at 508-543-1251 or view the next tab for more resources.