Henry Street Salamander Tunnels

Every year after the first spring rains in Amherst, volunteer “bucket brigades” used to stop traffic along Henry Street to carry migrating spotted salamanders safely across the road on Big Night.

Henry Street separates salamanders from the vernal pools (small temporary ponds) where they migrate every spring to mate and to lay eggs. When word spread about the animals’ plight, the British Fauna and Floral Preservation Society and ACO Polymer in Germany provided funds for an experimental tunnel project on Henry Street. In 1987, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Amherst Department of Public Works, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and local residents worked together to build two tunnels, 200 feet (61m) apart, and short “drift fences” to guide migrating salamanders into the tunnels. Today, the Hitchcock Center maintains these important migratory tunnels with volunteers to ensure that they remain free of debris and that the drift fences are mended after the heavy winter snow.

Our gratitude to W.D. Cowls Inc. and the Jones Family for allowing the Henry Street Salamander Tunnel project to be built on their land, and for their collaboration in the tunnels’ ongoing operation and maintenance.

 

Interested in joining us to help with tunnel maintenance? Visit our volunteer page for a call for volunteers in late winter.

For more about the salamanders, the Henry Street tunnels, check out this Highlights Magazine article, and coverage from the 2023 migration season from the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.

Want to stay up-to-date on Big Night and volunteer opportunities at Henry Street? Consider joining our Hitchcock Center: Henry Street Salamander Tunnels facebook group for all the latest information available directly in your news feed.

 

Big Night 2023

The salamander migration of 2023 took place in the last two weeks of March, 2023. 

Henry Street separates salamanders from the vernal pools (small temporary ponds) where they migrate every spring to mate and to lay eggs. In 1987, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment, Amherst Department of Public Works, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and local residents worked together to build two tunnels, 200 feet (61m) apart, and short “drift fences” to guide migrating salamanders into the tunnels. These are the first amphibian migration tunnels installed in North America in 1987. Today, the Hitchcock Center maintains these important migratory tunnels with volunteers to ensure that they remain free of debris and that the drift fences are mended after the heavy winter snow.

Join our email list to get notified next year for Big Night 2024! You can also call our Visitor’s Center to confirm the date at 413-256-6006 which we will add to our organization’s voicemail.

 

Big Night Instructions

Download a pdf version of the instructions.

Big Night occurs each spring when spotted salamanders and wood frogs migrate from their winter woodland habitats to nearby vernal wetlands to breed. During the first warm spring rains, in March or sometimes as late as April, after dark and with a stable temperature of 40 degrees F or above amphibians are likely to be moving.

If you are considering visiting the Henry Street tunnels for Big Night, we ask that you please consider the following guidelines to help keep the salamanders, frogs, and humans safe.

Thank you for your cooperation and enjoy the night!

 

 

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Hitchcock Center for the Environment