One benefit of being part of EwA's community is early access to our reports! We just finished our first report for this year: the 2024 EwA Vernal Pool and Threatened Species Report! As always, we have exciting updates to share [here].
This year marks the sixth successful year of the EwA Vernal Pool Awareness & Protection Program. While our fieldwork in the Fells was slightly reduced due to preparations for EwA's next organizational phase, we still achieved significant milestones. Several new vernal pools were confirmed and reported to the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP), bringing our total to approximately 30 EwA-confirmed vernal pools since launching the program in 2019. We also dedicated time to carefully survey our arthropod-specific site at Horn Pond, which hosts populations of the orange sallow moth (Pyrrhia aurantiago), a species of special concern in Massachusetts. These findings were submitted to NHESP and promptly approved.
Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to continue developing our program and enhancing public outreach. We are also planning to expand our vernal pool documentation efforts to include the Woburn area, broadening the scope of our conservation work.
This progress would not be possible without the contributions of our dedicated community of herpetologists and participatory scientists. We are also deeply grateful to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for granting us the research permit that enables our vernal pool documentation in the Middlesex Fells. Thank you for your continued support in helping us protect these critical habitats!
– The EwA Ecology Team | 
