Fatal foot traffic: How conservationists plan to protect salamanders at Presque Isle Park

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) — Environmentalists with the Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy have secured funds for an infrastructure project at Presque Isle Park that aims to help save an amphibian from the herds of people who want to see them.

A release from the SWP says Blue Spotted Salamanders have become quite the attraction in late winter and early spring. During that time, the salamanders make their way from the wooded interior of the park back down to vernal pools closer to the water. But to do so, every salamander must cross the road which surrounds the isle.

Every year the SWP says they and the city take precautions to keep them safe like closing the road to vehicles and putting up informational signs, but due to the salamanders’ increased popularity on social media, hundreds of spectators can be found observing the migration at night.

“Blue Spotted Salamanders are small (4-6 inches on average), slow-moving and difficult to see;
especially at night when they migrate,” reads the release from SWP. While cars were once the biggest threat to the salamanders, the SWP says that position has been taken by feet.

Now, a joint effort between them and the City of Marquette to install migration tunnels has received $27,000 from the Department of Natural Resources.

Kathleen Henry, Education Specialist with the SWP says, “Installing these innovative wildlife crossings is another important project to mitigate the unintended potential impacts of foot traffic, car traffic and bike traffic. We want to do everything possible to make their annual migration a continued success!”

The exact locations of the tunnels or time of construction have yet to be released. You can learn more about the SWP’s other projects here.

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