THE GAZETTE
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 s
Page A-5
AROUND THE COUNTY FrogWatch volunteers will help with frog and toad conservation A southern leopard frog.
Part of a nationwide program to collect data on the amphibians n
BY
PHOTO FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
SARAH SCULLY STAFF WRITER
Can you tell the difference between the sound of your neighbor struggling to play the banjo and the call of the green frog? More than two dozen county residents leapt at the chance to learn and help scientist gauge the health of the area’s wetlands. Scientists are enlisting local nature lovers to help them collect data on frogs and toads in Montgomery County. The information, which will build upon a nationwide database, helps scientists keep track of population levels of different species and ecosystem health. Frogs and toads are wetland indicator species — the strength of the population reflects how the ecosystem is faring. This is the first time Montgomery County is implementing the FrogWatch program. On Thursday, 26 volunteers gatheredattheRockvillelibraryfor their first training session. Starting in March, they’ll note levels of frog and toad calls they hear at designated locations near ponds and wetlands, where amphibians live. The second training event will be a field session in mid-March. If more residents express interest, coordinators said they might schedule additional training sessions. FrogWatch is run by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit organization based in Silver Spring. The association has partnered with the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection to bring data collection to the county. Volunteers can track
a site identified by the department, or register their own. By partnering with FrogWatch, the department hopes to raise awareness of habitat and species vulnerability. “Wetlands are a concern, as well as the loss of frog species” from fungal infections, said Jessica Jones, a program manager with the Department of Environmental Protection. “There’s been a loss of wetlands throughout the country,” she said. Much of the loss comes when “sometimes people don’t know that they have valuable habitat in their backyards,” and drain or fill wet areas, Jones said. Staff members explained how to monitor the amphibians — once a week for three weeks, at least 30 minutes after sunset in proper weather — and enter the data online. If it’s too windy or rainy, they might not hear the calls. It must be above 35 degrees for frogs and toads to be active. Volunteers note how many frog and toad calls they hear and record the weather that night. The hard part comes in memorizing the calls of a dozen or so different species, which differ vastly. Wood frogs sound like ducks. They are one of the few species that can live as far north as Alaska, due to a compound in their blood that keeps
them from freezing. Spring peepers make a highpitched peep. “It’s like the harbinger of spring — let’s you know when it’s going to warm up outside,” said Ken Mack, water quality specialist for the department of environmental protection. The pickerel frog makes a snoring croak sound and the southern leopard frog “sounds like you’re rubbing rubber together,” Mack said. For the northern cricket frog: “I like to think of their call as bouncing glass marbles off of each other,” he said. The green frog — the most common in the area — sounds “like someone who is trying to learn the banjo and not doing a very good job,” he said. Mack encouraged volunteers to come up with their own mnemonics and comparisons to remember the calls. Karen Sommer Shalett learned about the program from a Bethesda-Chevy Chase neighborhood listserv and took her two sons, Simon, 6, and Nathaniel, 8. She said that they recently lost an 8-year-oldfamilymember,andnature lover, to cancer. FrogWatch is a way for them to honor him while giving back, she said. Plus, Simon and Nathan love animals, too. “We wanted to teach the kids that you can do something with your passion and still give back,” she said. sscully@gazette.net
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FILE PHOTO
A car passes a stopped school bus dropping off children in Olney.
Camera system catches drivers illegally passing buses in county n
10 tickets issued in county this year
BY
LINDSAY A. POWERS STAFF WRITER
Ten drivers who illegally passed a Montgomery County school bus in January were caught in the act by a new camera system. Since Jan. 2, five cameras on Montgomery County Public Schools buses have issued 10 citations, at $125 each, to drivers who passed a stopped bus while its stop arm was extended with flashing red lights, said Cpl. Rebecca Innocenti, a spokeswoman for county police. The cameras automatically record vehicles that pass a bus illegally. If an officer catches a motorist passing a stopped school bus, she said, the citation would be steeper: $570 and 3 points on their license. Innocenti said the tickets were issued on the following
streets: Ridge Road in Damascus; Fairland Road in Silver Spring; West Lake Drive and Tuckerman Lane in Rockville; West Lake Drive and Tuckerman Lane in Bethesda; and Muddy Branch Road and East Deer Park Drive in Gaithersburg. The data from the bus cameras will help police further understand which areas in the county are the most problematic when it comes to this type of violations, Innocenti said. The cameras help police catch drivers whom they might not see or who would be difficult to stop based on the topography of the road, Innocenti said. “It certainly assists patrol officers’ efforts to enforce the law,” she said. The program currently has 10 cameras — five cameras were recently added but were not issuing citations. Innocenti said 15 more cameras will be installed by the end of February on school
buses that run routes with the most passing incidents. That will bring the total number of school buses equipped with the cameras to 25. Wiring for the cameras will be installed on 75 more buses so the cameras can be swapped among the buses. The county also has the ability to purchase up to 75 more cameras during its contract, according to an Oct. 22 memo from Montgomery County Council staff. The County Council enacted a law in March 2012 that enables police to install and operate cameras on school buses to catch drivers who pass the vehicles when they are stopped and operating their flashing red lights. Ultimately, Innocenti said, the goal goes beyond catching scofflaws. “Our goal is for people to be informed about the law and know the law and stop for stopped school buses,” she said. lpowers@gazette.net