We have initiated a ground-breaking salamander repatriation effort in North Florida to save the newt before it vanishes.
The Adopt-a-Newt program allows you to directly support the research and education involved in conserving this species.
Here's how it works. Read over the descriptions below of our three striped newt repatriation ponds. Select your donation level from the menu. You will be prompted to select your striped newt pond when you click Donate. We will then send you updates during the field season about the newts from your pond, as well as photos and fact sheets.
Pond 18
We like to say this pond is where the music is playing. Almost 200 larvae and over 150 adults have been repatriated to this wetland thus far. Most importantly, here is where we captured our first striped newt adult returning to breed and documented successful breeding of captive-born individuals. We have had trouble with off-road mud bogging at this wetland. Four wheelers have run over our fence and spun out in the wetland basin. This kind of activity not only causes damage to the vegetation, animals, and hydroperiod of the wetland, it also damages the pond liner we installed to help improve conditions for growing newt larvae.
Pond 75
This pond has the largest drift fence (lots of traps to check!). We have documented many species using this wetland including mole salamanders, central newts, oak toads, pinewoods and barking treefrogs, gopher frogs, and ornate chorus frogs. This pond, along with Pond 182, is used frequently for field trips and other educational events. We have repatriated almost 373 larvae and adult striped newts into this wetland over the past seven years and have documented seven leaving the wetland for terrestrial life in the uplands.
Pond 182
This is very close to Pond 75 and is also used for field trips and other educational activities. It is our smallest wetland but still provides important breeding habitat for gopher frogs and ornate chorus frogs. Once we captured a softshell turtle face down in one of our traps! This wetland is off the beaten track so to speak. You have to hike in and yet we have had trouble with trap vandalism at this wetland for some reason. We've released over 500 adult and larval striped newts into this wetland over the past seven years and have documented nine leaving the wetland for terrestrial life in the uplands.