Can you imagine seeing over 400 frogs and salamanders trying to cross your road? Can you imagine the massacre that might happen if your road is busy? In my local paper the other day, there was a story about a township in New Jersey that is actually closing one of its roads during a time when hundreds of frogs and salamanders have been known to cross this street.
The crossing is habitual, occurring usually on the first warm, rainy night in Mid-March. The amphibians cross the road from where they hatched to better swamps and ponds across the street. Local volunteers and the wildlife associations have stepped in to try to help these creatures cross the road, but they can’t keep up with the masses. By the time they get back from carrying some of the frogs and salamanders, traffic has taken its toll on hundreds more.
The article also reported that in another area in NJ, traffic has wiped out the local population of blue spotted salamanders, an endangered species.
So this year, this nature-oriented town has decided to close the road (for a night or few hours) and save the amphibians! Our kudos go out to this town and I felt the need to share with you. With some much bad news out there, isn’t it nice to know that some people are paying attention to the little guys, the amphibians that need a little help crossing the street?
As more and more of us live in rural areas, we all need to take the time to consider the natural residents of our towns and figure out how we can protect them or at least live in harmony with them. Our hats are off to this township in NJ! Way to go!
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Sandi Duncan is the Managing Editor of the Farmers' Almanac. 
If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.
