Maine Amphibians and Reptiles, the second edition of which was published in 1999, is currently being revised with publication planned for early 2024. The foundation of the book is the township distribution data from the Maine Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project (MARAP). Although MARAP is an ongoing effort, this new third edition of Maine Amphibians and Reptiles will include distribution maps incorporating records obtained through the 2023 field season. Thus, we are hoping to fill in as many gaps in the distribution maps as possible by the summer of 2023. Of particular importance is adding records near the edges of the ranges for species that only occur in parts of Maine (e.g., Mink Frog, Eastern Milksnake) in order to better define those species’ distributional limits in the state. We also hope to add township records of widespread species (e.g., Eastern Red-backed Salamander) in poorly surveyed regions of the state, such as northwestern Maine or interior Washington County, so that the distribution maps in the book accurately reflect those species’ actual distributions.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) recently updated the amphibian and reptile information available on their Web site, including the addition of individual species pages for all non-marine species (i.e., sea turtles are currently excluded). In addition to photos and basic identification and natural history information, each species page includes a link (under the “Share Your Sighting” section near the bottom of each page) to a PDF of that species’ current MARAP township distribution map. These species pages can be found at:

https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/species-information/reptiles-amphibians/index.html

We encourage people to consult these maps and submit observations to iNaturalist for any new township records for any species, particularly those near the edges of ranges or that fill in significant distribution gaps. The current maps include many older sight reports that aren’t supported by photographs or specimens. For the current effort we hope to “upgrade” as many of those as possible to photo-vouchered records, and documenting species in these townships is equally as valuable as documenting them in townships with no records of any kind. For example, northern Maine has many reports of chorusing Spring Peepers but few records supported by photographs, thus a valuable contribution could be made by finding and photographing this species almost anywhere in that region.

For questions, please message me through iNaturalist or email either myself (trevor.persons@nau.edu) or MDIFW herpetologist Derek Yorks (derek.yorks@maine.gov).

Some MARAP iNaturalist project members may already be aware of the current Maine turtle roadkill survey, but for those that aren't the following is an announcement from Sarah Haggerty at Maine Audubon:

Greetings!

Maine Audubon is beginning the second year of an exciting effort to identify where turtles might be at risk of harm from traffic as they move across the landscape during the active season, and we are hoping you will help!

We are looking for volunteers who can commit to walking along pre-selected road segments, documenting any roadkill or live animals at risk of harm from the roadway. We are particularly interested in turtles for this project, but we would appreciate the documentation of any roadkill observations, or observations of wildlife at risk of becoming roadkill along these routes.

Survey routes have been identified using models of where roadways are near good turtle habitat. The routes are all less than one mile long, and we are asking for data to be collected once a month, at least 3 times during the active season of May through September.

Does that sound interesting to you? Do you want to contribute to science while getting outside several times over the summer? If so, we ask that all volunteers attend one of the two training sessions we are offering: March 30th 9:00-12:30 at the IFW Warden Service Headquarters in Gray, and April 6th 9:00 – 12:30 at the Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden. Refreshments will be served.

For additional information and to register for a training, please go to the “Wildlife & Roads” page on our website (https://www.maineaudubon.org/projects/road-watch/). At these trainings, we will teach volunteers how to identify different turtle species, data collection methods using iNaturalist and/or paper forms, and road safety. We will provide safety vests, data forms, and small rulers. We ask volunteers to bring smart phones if they have them (for iNaturalist) and appropriate footwear and clothing to go for a brief walk along a roadside at the training session.

There is additional background information on the project in the Habitat article from 2018 found on the Maine Audubon webpage, published last spring in Maine Audubon’s quarterly Habitat magazine. If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Haggerty at (207) 781-2330 x225 or shaggerty@maineaudubon.org.

Thank you in advance for your help, and we look forward to seeing you at one of the training sessions!

Sincerely,

Sarah A. Haggerty