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Vernal Pools: The Natural History of a Fleeting Seasonal Wetland
It's almost spring! But for some wildlife, spring starts in late February with the first heavy rains. This is a time when days get increasingly longer and the spring rains soak the Anacostia River watershed. It is a busy time of the year for many organisms, especially if you depend on a vital ephemeral wetland called vernal pools or seasonal pools.
In this presentation, we are delighted to have Mark Southerland as our guest speaker. Mark got his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by studying salamanders in mountain streams. Since then he has helped protect ecosystems as an environmental consultant, including for the Maryland Biological Stream Survey. Currently, he is advocating for the protection of vernal pools through state legislation and grass roots efforts by the Patapsco Heritage Greenway and Howard County Conservancy.