We are enlisting your help in documenting observations of reptiles and amphibians (dead or alive) in Virginia - particularly on or near roads (but any Virginia herp photos will do). A new Virginia Reptiles and Amphibians on Roads project has been created in iNaturalist. iNaturalist is an international citizen-science data collection platform. It is simple to use and can be accessed through a website or an app on your phone.
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iNaturalist is increasingly being used by the scientific community as a data source for research conducted for the benefit of wildlife populations. We set up the Virginia Reptiles and Amphibians on Roads project to gain a better understanding of the species most affected by road mortality, locations with the highest frequencies of mortality, and the habitat conditions associated with these hotspots. Similar projects have been conducted in the U.S. and Canada, and these efforts can ultimately be used to implement measures to safely connect reptile and amphibian habitat across roads.

If you’re able to contribute, follow the instructions written in the project’s journal post “Welcome and Instructions” on the project’s home page. You are welcome to use the data collected for this project; anyone with an iNaturalist account can export data as a spreadsheet.


This news update was featured in the Winter 2023 VSWCC Newsletter. Click here to see the full newsletter. 

The Virginia Safe Wildlife Corridors Collaborative now has a newsletter!

This newsletter will periodically recap recent meetings, summarize recent funding and job opportunities related to habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors, and other related news. 

See the July 2022 newsletter here.

Here are some resources to learn more about roadsides and pollinators:
- VDOT's Pollinator Habitat Program
- US Department of Transportation "Pollinators and Roadsides: Best Management Practices for Managers and Decision Makers" (2015)
- Xerces Society "Pollinators and Roadsides" Invertebrate Conservation Guidelines Document

This new policy, available here, provides information on the following:

• How to obtain a more accurate estimate of deer crashes on a road segment.  
• How to calculate costs for a large animal crash.  
• The conditions under which large animal crash countermeasures should be considered, including road classification, posted speed, and the number of crashes that indicate a high risk area.  
• The policy notes that countermeasures can be considered at lower crash thresholds and/or other road systems at the discretion of district staff.

The VSWCC is proud to have partners within VDOT's Virginia Transportation Research Council working to make travel safer for both people and wildlife.