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Banner file photo
Spadefoot toad is small but persistent about finding a mate. |
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Road closed to protect toads
Banner Daily Update Mon. Apr. 7
By Kaimi Rose Lum
BANNER STAFF
PROVINCETOWN — On drizzly April nights, when the temperature is right, spadefoot toads emerge from their burrows in the Province Lands and head for the nearest wetland to get down to the business of spring — mating. But there is danger along the way. Many spadefoots must cross Province Lands Road to reach their destination, risking death by car.
The National Seashore has blocked off the road in years past to protect the spadefoots at this vulnerable time, and this month periodic closures of Province Lands Road will go into effect again, beginning in mid-April. The closures will not only protect the toads but will allow Seashore staff to do important research so they can better predict when the spadefoots will be most active and avoid disastrous toad kills in the future.
There will be scheduled closings and spontaneous closings. The scheduled closings will take place on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday nights between sundown and 1 a.m. Spontaneous closings may occur on other nights of the week when heavy rains are forecast. On nights with lots of rain and heavy toad activity, Seashore researchers will continue their work until sunrise.
Spadefoot toads are a rare find in the Northeast, which is why the Seashore is so appreciative of the large population known to exist in the Province Lands. The toads, named for a horny growth on their hind feet that helps them dig down into the ground, prefer sandy soil and are able to breed in the ephemeral wetlands scattered through the dune desert east of Route 6.
Still, they remain something of a mystery to the scientific community. "A plethora of unknowns" surround the toad, said Seashore researcher Brad Timm recently. Timm’s toad work in the field has resulted in some intriguing discoveries, such as the spadefoots' tendency to hang out in more overgrown areas of the dunes – scrub pine thickets and the edges of deciduous forest, for instance – rather than in the heathers and sand plains, which their counterparts, the Fowler's toads, prefer.
He will be continuing his toad studies this season, as will Seashore researcher Megan McClean, who will conduct the nighttime research on Province Lands Road.
The road closures will not affect access to Provincetown Airport or Race Point Beach, which will remain accessible via Race Point Road.
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Apr 3rd, 2008