A Lifelong Fascination with Amphibians
I've always been fascinated by amphibians and reptiles. Even as a little kid, I was constantly catching frogs, snakes, turtles, salamanders, and just about anything else that crawled, hopped, or slithered. Growing up around Bare Hill Pond, frogs were everywhere. By the time I was in high school, my friends and I would catch dozens of bullfrogs during the summer. We'd bring them home, and my mom would fry up frog legs, which were considered one of the great delicacies of growing up on the pond.
One of the experiences that changed my life was participating in the annual amphibian migration with the Massachusetts Audubon Society. On the first warm, rainy nights of early spring, thousands of frogs and salamanders would emerge from the forests and begin their migration to the vernal pools. Some years the pools were still mostly covered with ice, leaving only a narrow band of open water where the animals could reach the edge to lay their eggs.
The spotted salamanders would spend only a couple of weeks there before disappearing back into the woods, while the frogs returned to the surrounding forests after breeding. I became involved in one of my first research projects studying these vernal pools. We monitored amphibian egg masses to determine why so many eggs were failing to hatch. At the time, acid rain was considered one of the leading suspects, and it was a major environmental concern throughout New England.
Looking back, that volunteer project was one of the biggest turning points in my life. It introduced me to scientific field research, collecting data, public speaking, and working with conservation organizations. More importantly, it sparked a lifetime of volunteering that eventually led me into environmental consulting, graduate school, the U.S. Geological Survey, conservation work, and countless volunteer projects over the decades.
Many years later, while preparing for several months in South America, I contacted the Smithsonian Institution and eventually found myself flying by helicopter into the Amazon rainforest. For four unforgettable weeks I worked alongside world-renowned herpetologists documenting frogs, snakes, lizards, and other wildlife. We even documented several species that were new to science. At one point I nearly stepped on a giant Bushmaster, one of the largest and most venomous vipers in the world. I like to think that was one of my nine lives.
Even today, some of my favorite memories are of canoe camping beside quiet lakes, falling asleep to the chorus of spring peepers, bullfrogs, green frogs, and American toads. Before long you learn to recognize each species simply by its call. That fascination began when I was five years old and has never left me. It remains one of the reasons I've spent so much of my life exploring, studying, and trying to protect the natural world.
