The Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) in association with the National Park Service will be running a 24 hour biodiversity survey of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

The event is occurring Friday, September 24th into Saturday, September 25th. Dormitory housing is also available for $10 a person if you are interested.

If this event sounds like something you would like some more information about please visit http://www.peec.org/bioblitz/index.html or send an email to bioblitz@peec.org.

A new feature has been added to the Pennsylvania Herpetological Research and Education Project Database. The feature accompanies the preexisting Taxon Map, an accumulation of data submitted to the PAHERP database, and is expected to further expand knowledge of species’ locations to both the public and researchers alike.

The new Museum Record Map provides users with a view of historic county data of reptiles and amphibians in Pennsylvania. Records from nine various museum collections have been compiled to develop these maps, displaying over 150 years of information dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. Although the museum data may not include a fully accurate distribution of species within Pennsylvania counties, information shown in the maps allows for a greater understanding of former and current territories.

As a supplement to the PAHERP database, these historic records are hoped to increase awareness and insight of reptiles and amphibians in the state.

Users can access both the Taxon Maps and Museum Record Maps on the PAHERP Database species list. Individual map links are located to the right of each species name.

In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of amphibians, the scientific community has declared Friday April 30th, 2010 the 2nd Annual ‘Save The Frogs Day’. On this day we encourage the appreciation and celebration of amphibians by people from all walks of life.

Please get involved and help spread the word! Remember that only a small proportion of our public is aware that frogs are disappearing, and that amphibian conservation efforts will not be successful until amphibian declines are common knowledge: think of how long it has taken for any political action on global warming to occur! Politicians rarely act until the public demands action. Our goal is to make the amphibian extinction crisis common knowledge by April 30th, 2010: help make it happen!

Save The Frogs Day is a perfect time for teachers and students to focus on amphibian conservation, learn about amphibian extinctions, and discuss ways that we can all contribute to amphibian conservation efforts.

Find out how you can get involved!
http://savethefrogs.com/day

The Pennsylvania Herpitological Education and Research Project launched a new applicationto its web site today. PAHERP has been working on the Pennsylvania County Species Application for more than a month, anticipating it will be a great tool for the public.

The County Species Application is a web based site developed as an educational tool to bring awareness of the reptiles and amphibians to the Commonwealth counties. Using data from the PAHERP database, the program relates the information to older county records.

The application shows up-to-date verifications from data submitted by the public to the PAHERP database. It also shows unverified records related to older references for a county predating 2000. Finally, it shows historic species that have not been documented within a county for a number of years.

The application has two search features that can be used, Search by County and Search by Species.

Search by County brings up the list of all counties in Pennsylvania. When a county is selected, the user is taken to that county’s species list. This is a list of species that have been documented or had historic occurrence in that county.

Search by Species gives the user a list of all species that may be found within Pennsylvania. On selecting a species the user is taken to the species page showing a list of counties it has been documented in or has a historic status. A link is also provided to take the user to the PAHERP Identification site on that species for information on identification.

“This application is an important tool that allows folks to identify what may be living in their backyards. Additionally, with increased input from volunteers, an accurate picture of species’ ranges can be drawn which ultimately can assist with the conservation of some Pennsylvania’a rarer herps.” – Kyle Loucks

“Cool Application! Not sure what herps are in your county or a given area, just one click away! Great for species ID and range info also! Very user friendly. ” – Kevin Wolfe

Information on the species is updated after records have been reviewed from the PAHERP database. The application also updates the maps related to those species on the Pennsylvania Herpetological Identification site.

Pennsylvania County Species Application is an ongoing program to expand the range of species thoughout Pennsylvania. It is easy to use, and anyone interested in verifying a species in a certain county should visit the PAHERP database, sign up and add his or her sighting.

Launch the application now though PAHERP ID menu at the top of the page or visit the PAHERP App located at paherp.com

The distribution maps on individual species pages have been updated. The new maps are more accurate and will be frequently updated.

The maps are part of our upcoming Species County Application project we are working on thought the PAHERP site. Stay tuned for more information the new application.