Vernal Pool Monitoring Program

Overview

The Vernal Pool Monitoring Program aims to increase awareness of vernal pools and to map and monitor vernal pools in West Virginia. Vernal pools, sometimes known as ephemeral pools or ponds, are seasonal wetlands that form during the late fall, winter, and early spring. Fall rain and snow, and early spring snow melt, fills depressions in the forest floor, creating shallow pools that many amphibians use to lay their eggs. In West Virginia, wood frogs, spotted salamanders, Jefferson salamanders, toads, and spring peepers all visit vernal pools to breed and deposit eggs. The young develop in the vernal pools until they emerge and spend their adult lives in the surrounding forest habitat. Then, they return to these same pools to breed in following years.

Contact Us

Save Our Streams Coordinator
Email: saveourstreams@wv.gov

Workshop participants observe a vernal pool near Buckeye, Pocahontas County (April, 2023)

Egg masses in a vernal pool

A vernal pool with vegetation in the early summer

Training Workshops

To kick off the vernal pool monitoring season, we will host a virtual workshop on Thursday, February 19 from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM for our partners, community scientists, experts, and vernal pool enthusiasts. The virtual meeting is an excellent opportunity for both new and trained volunteers alike to kick off 2026 monitoring season.

The first two hours of the workshop will feature guest speakers sharing updates on the latest vernal pool science topics. The last hour of the workshop will include a virtual visit to a vernal pool to demonstrate the monitoring protocol, and we will also share an exciting new update for 2026 data submission.

Upon completion of the workshop, you are encouraged to explore and find a local vernal pool that you can visit one to three times per year and record observations related to the pool size, characteristics, and whether amphibian egg masses are present. As we learn more about where vernal pools are located and the populations they support, we can better protect them by raising public awareness to their importance in the forest ecosystem.

We will also host three in-person workshops will include both a classroom component and outdoor field visit. 2026 Workshop location and dates: Wheeling, West Liberty University (February 28); Shannondale, Rolling Ridge Conservancy (March 14); Glen Jean, New River Gorge National Park (March 21). Registration for in-person workshops will open soon.

These workshops are a cooperative effort made possible by the WV Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, United States Geological Survey, National Park Service, local partners, and participating watershed and master naturalist organizations.

Virtual

Date: February 19, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Location: Virtual (Google Meet)

West Liberty University

Date: February 28, 2026
Time: TBD
Location: Appalachian Aquatics Center, Wheeling, WV

Rolling Ridge Conservancy

Date: March 14, 2026
Time: TBD
Location: Shannondale, WV

New River Gorge

Date: March 21, 2026
Time: TBD
Location: Glen Jean, WV

Training Resources

Vernal Pool Amphibian and Macroinvertebrate Videos

Would you like to see vernal pool aquatic life up close, underwater? Check out these amazing videos produced by Dr. Andrew Hoffman, John Buffington, and Zach Truelock at the Life Underfoot YouTube Channel.

50+ Jefferson Salamanders Trapped in Frozen Pond!

Jefferson salamanders use vernal pools to breed and lay eggs. Learn how they can survive for days or weeks underwater when the vernal pool freezes over. Topics include: vernal pools, amphibians, cutaneous respiration, dissolved oxygen availability and variation by water temperature.

100+ Spotted Salamanders in a Vernal Pool!

This video provides an overview of vernal pool ecology and presents beautiful underwater footage of spotted salamanders, fairy shrimp, and other vernal pool macroinvertebrates. Topics include: vernal pools, importance of fish absence, salamanders returning to the same vernal pool, macroinvertebrate and fairy shrimp, spermatophores and amphibian life cycle.

Marbled Salamanders are Protective Mothers!

Vernal pools and their depressions are important habitats even during the fall dry period. This video introduces viewers to the marbled salamander, which uses vernal pool depressions to deposit their eggs in the moist soil and leaf litter. The larva will develop and emerge once the pool fills with water. This will give them a competitive advantage over the other salamanders, such as Jeffersons and spotted salamanders, who will arrive later. Topics include: vernal pools as amphibian nurseries, marbled salamanders fall breeding season, dry period of vernal pools, breeding season timing for competitive advantage.