Vernal Pools

Vernal pools are key sources of habitat and biodiversity. Therefore, it is important for our organization to take steps to protect these special wetlands.

Vernal Pool Certification

Vernal pools are ephemeral ("temporary") wetlands that fill with water annually from rainwater and snowmelt, usually holding water for only a few months in the spring before drying out in late summer. Because of this variable wet-dry cycle, they cannot support populations of fish. Being fish-free makes them critical breeding habitat for a variety of amphibians, insects, and invertebrates.

Vernal pools can receive special protections in the state of Massachusetts that protect them from land development and habitat fragmentation, some of the major threats to vernal pools and their surrounding habitats. These protections come about through certification, or the process of documenting breeding activity by indicator species and submitting that evidence to the state. Once a vernal pool is certified, it can receive protections under several state and federal laws including the Wetlands Protection Act, Clean Water Act, and the Massachusetts Environmental Code.

Indicator species use vernal pools for all or a portion of their life cycle. On Cape Cod, these are the wood frog, spotted salamander, and fairy shrimp. Spotted salamanders and wood frogs lay large gelatinous masses of eggs. The eggs are so small that one mass can contain hundreds to thousands of individual eggs! Volunteers document breeding evidence by taking high-quality videos or pictures of amphibian egg masses and adult fairy shrimp. Other types of breeding evidence accepted by the state include pictures or videos of spermatophores (pockets of sperm deposited by male salamanders), amphibian breeding pairs, and chorusing frogs. The state entity that handles this data is called the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP). Anyone, from an established organization to a citizen scientist, can visit vernal pools and submit observations.

In 2024, the 300 Committee Land Trust and other partner organizations signed a pledge put forth by the Dennis Conservation Land Trust (DCLT) to certify a minimum of 3 potential vernal pools per year in their town. Potential vernal pools are those that have yet to be certified. Vernal pool monitoring is part of DCLT's Community Diversity Initiative, whose goal is to increase reporting of vernal pool and state listed species by guiding partner organizations in the creation of volunteer-led monitoring programs. To fulfill this request, the 300 Committee is looking for landowners and/or interested members of the public to assist with monitoring vernal pools and reporting observations. Read more to get involved.

How to Get Involved

If you are a landowner in Falmouth with a vernal pool on your property who is interested in getting it certified, please complete and submit the linked form. A 300 Committee staff member will follow up with you. Please note that this must be a vernal pool that has not already been certified by the NHESP. This data layer from the Cape Cod Commission shows all potential vernal pools in the state Massachusetts. On the form, you should provide either the potential vernal pool ID number or a detailed description of the pool's location. This description must be detailed enough to allow us to locate the pool on a map and in the field.

If you are not the owner of the land with the vernal pool, you must obtain permission from the landowners before visiting the pool and collecting any data. Feel free to use this permission request letter and provide proof that you requested and obtained permission.

Also on the form, please indicate whether you would like a knowledgeable staff member or volunteer to visit the site with you to collect the necessary data, or whether you feel comfortable collecting the data on your own. If you are going out on your own, please keep safety in mind and avoid going out after dark.

Please follow this process to collect data and submit your observations . . .

Complete the linked Google interest form and connect with a 300 Committee staff member. They will verify the location of the pool and approve your request to certify it. Please obtain any necessary landowner permissions before completing the form.
Print/obtain a copy of the data form. Please print the data form linked below so that you can take it into the field with you. The state asks for most of this information when vernal pool observations are uploaded.
Visit the vernal pool to take high-quality photos/videos of egg masses and/or fairy shrimp. Please look for egg masses of either the spotted salamander or wood frog, as these are considered indicator or obligate species. You must also take a photo or video that shows the entire pool, including any inlets, outlets, or important landmarks. Please fill you the data form while you are in the field. Plan to go out between late March and late April, as this is when obligate amphibians are most likely to be active.
Submit your observations to Heritage Hub/the 300 Committee Land Trust. You are welcome to create an account with Heritage Hub to upload your observations. Heritage Hub is the database managed by NHESP were anyone can upload vernal pool observations or sightings of rare species. Visit this page if you are interested in creating an account. If not, please email your photos/videos to Will Poirier at wpoirier@300committee.org. Acceptable photo file formats include .jpg, .jpeg, and .png. Acceptable video file formats include .mov, .mp4, and .wav. In your message, please include your name, the date you did the survey, your file uploads (including a pdf of the data form), and the pool location/ID number.

When in the field, it is recommended that you have the following equipment:

A mobile phone or camera for taking pictures and videos
Waders or wellies (tall rubber boots)
A meter or yard stick
A clipboard and writing utensil
A tape measure
Some sort of hard plastic surface (i.e. clipboard, whiteboard) or plastic container
Appropriate outdoor clothing

When photographing egg masses, please avoid removing them from the water. Instead, place the plastic container behind the egg masses while they are still in the water, then take the photo. When it comes to measuring the pool dimensions (length, width, depth), you can either obtain exact measurements using a tape measure/meterstick, or you are welcome to estimate. The video on vernal pool certification from the Buzzards Bay Coalition shows this process in more detail.