Spadefoot Toad Monitoring – Shoestring

In collaboration with United States Geological Survey, IRC staff and volunteers will be monitoring vernal pools located at Shoestring and Irvine Mesa. They will survey for activity in the pools and note down the status and conditions of the pools. The goal to give periodic updates on the pools to USGS and notify them when any spadefoot toads have reached the metamorph stage.

This activity is for the Shoestring pools and we will be meeting in Building D at the IRC office. Staff will drive volunteers to the shoestring gate and up to the ponds if trails conditions allow. If transportation is unavailable, volunteers will be asked to hike in from Augustine staging. Volunteers will be notified if this is the case.

Please sanitize your boots and any of your own equipment after visiting the pools, especially if you signed up to go to both shoestring and the mesa pools in the same week. USGS recommends a 10% bleach solution but alcohol and other cleaning agents will do. We will sanitize equipment that we provide such as waders, thermometers, and secchi disks.