MORNING SENTINEL • May 4, 2025
On warm, rainy spring nights, hundreds of volunteers stake out roads across Maine to do what they can to usher some of the state’s smallest creatures across to the road to ensure the next generation of amphibians will live to take the same trip in years to come. Maine’s annual spring migration brings throngs of frogs and salamanders down from the forested uplands to shallow seasonal or vernal pools, where amphibians gather to breed each night. But the migration paths often take them across the state’s network of paved roads, putting them at risk of death from traffic. Greg LeClair, biologist at Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, sought a solution to the carnage. He founded Maine Big Night, a community science project that invites volunteers across Maine to help amphibians safely cross dark roads while collecting data to support long-term species survival.