Friends of the Rouge Frog and Toad Survey Brings Signs of Spring

Winter is still going full force, but the Friends of the Rouge River, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cleaning up the rouge river, is already thinking about spring. Or, more specifically, frogs and toads.

"I know it's probably really hard to think about frogs on a day like today, when we have two feet of snow on the ground," said Sally Petrella, the organization's volunteer coordinator, speaking to a group gathered at . "But spring is coming."

More than 30 people turned up Saturday morning for the Friends of the Rouge's first volunteer training session of the year for frog and toad surveyors. The volunteers were trained in how to identify the calls of eight different frog and toad species and given instructions on where to listen for them.

The organization has conducted an since 1998, and the purpose is to identify which areas of the Rouge River Watershed have the most biodiversity, thus gauging the overall health of the entire Rouge River system.

"The more species you have in a wetland, the healthier that environment is," Petrella said.

The Friends of the Rouge River recruits volunteers each spring to disperse out into quarter-mile areas of the Rouge River watershed and listen for signs of eight different species of frogs and toads. The volunteers record what they find and send it in to the organization, which then compiles it into an annual report.

"It helps us assess the state of the Rouge River watershed," Petrella said. "We also use these reports when we present to planning commissions to help them identify areas that should be preserved and maybe build in areas that are already very built up."

The Rouge River watershed is the area that feeds into the Rouge River and includes Wayne County, most of Oakland County and parts of Washtenaw County.

According to Petrella, the middle branch of the Rouge River, which starts in the Walled Lake area and passes through Plymouth, is the healthiest in the system.

"In the northern part, where it's called Johnson Creek, it's cold and clean enough to support brown trout," Petrella said.

Despite this, the Rouge River as a whole is the most polluted river in Michigan and the group aims to preserve it and clean it up.

Plymouth resident Sue Thompson has been volunteering for the frog and toad survey for eight years and surveys areas of Maybury State Park in Northville.

"It's a lot of fun," she said. "Doing it in the park, I meet a lot of people who ask me what I'm doing and it's fun to explain it to them."

She also said it's a fun way for kids to get involved with helping the environment.

"A lot of kids are already into frogs," Thompson said. "So they're automatically interested. But then they come here and see how it's all connected to helping the Rouge River and they learn a lot."

Sandi Hamilton of Livonia is back to volunteer for her second year. She surveys in the Nankin Mills area of Westland, near Hines Park, and said she likes it because it's an easy way to make a difference.

"This is relatively easy to do, it doesn't involve physical labor," she said. "I had spinal surgery, but it's something I can do."

Her tips are to wear good shoes, bring a flashlight and wear bug spray.

"In the early spring it's fine, there aren't any mosquitoes out yet," Hamilton said. "But once you start getting into the summer, they're out in full force.

Volunteers are expected to start surveying their areas once the temperature reaches 46 degrees or higher at night. They're told to go out after sunset because that's the time when frogs and toads are most actively calling. Surveying continues throughout the summer and ends in late July.

There will be three more training sessions for volunteers this year.

The next one will be held at the on March 2 at 7 p.m.

Another session will be held at the on March 5 at 10 a.m., and the final session will be held at Bloomfield Township Hall on March 12 at 10 a.m.