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Milestone Reached!
The CVNB is pleased to share a new milestone — In the current migration season alone, our Brigadiers have saved over 15,000 newts and encountered 264 alive California Red-legged frogs! Unfortunately, we could not save 100% of the animals we came across; over 4,800 newts and 59 frogs were killed by cars and trucks during the same time period. Over the five years our dedicated Brigadiers have been patrolling Chileno Valley Road, over 30,000 newts have been rescued.
To put the incredible efforts of our Brigadiers into perspective, a single individual would have to work full-time for over 10 months to equal the volunteer hours amassed so far in 2023-2024.
Intrepid Brigadiers, we salute you!
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Sargeant Andrei Smirniff and Officer Sebastian Gallegos, Marin County Sheriff's Office
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New Partnership with Marin County Sheriffs
The Chileno Valley Newt Brigade is grateful to the Marin County Sheriff's Office for helping to keep our Brigadiers safe on the road. Pictured above are Sargeant Andrei Smirnoff and Officer Sebastian Gallegos. In the fall, these officers will give our new Brigadiers a class on safety and conflict resolution. We appreciate this new partnership!
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Our Brigadiers encounter hundreds of Pacific Treefrogs (Pseudacris regilla) as they pursue their newt rescue efforts on Chileno Valley Road. (Photo by Shelby Erickson)
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Update on Chileno Valley Road crossing study
Cheryl Brehme, Phillip Gould of USGS and Charles Tornaci of Dokken Engineering are working on prospective designs for animal crossings or a new road over the migration area of Chileno Valley Road. They will present these designs to Marin County and the County will choose one. We will raise money to implement the design. The study is due to be completed by the end of this year.
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A pregnant female Rough-skinned Newt heads toward Laguna Lake (Photo by Daniela Powers)
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The Newt Brigade Grows up!
We are thrilled to announce that the Chileno Valley Newt Brigade has now become an official nonprofit 501(c)(3), tax-deductible organization. All donations we receive are fully tax-deductible.
We thank our former non-profit fiscal agent, Marin Links, for continuing to administer our California Fish and Wildlife Feasibility Grant.
Becoming a non-profit is a huge achievement. We are grateful to the many volunteers and donors who helped to make this happen. If you would like to contribute to our efforts, please click here.
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Red-legged Frog on Chileno Valley Road – Winter 2023
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2023-2024 Migration Season Coming to a Close
The newts began migrating last Oct. 7th, 2023, when the first juveniles crawled out of Laguna Lake with the first spattering of rain, headed south towards the hills. For awhile it was just these babies, and then the males started to appear, heading down from the hills toward the lake, shortly thereafter followed by the females. The next phase is the return and that is where we are now.
The return is a long, undramatic period. A few newts cross the road each evening, unlike the Fall when there were sometimes hundreds of them per night. Nevertheless, the Brigadiers are out on the road, assisting even a few newts to get across the road safely. There are also slender salamanders, lots of chorus frogs, several otters, red-legged frogs, garter snakes, ensatinas and arboreal salamanders. We expect this period to end by the end of March. Interestingly, other crossings we are in touch with have different migratory periods.
Our 5th year of saving newts has been wonderful. We are better at what we do overall. We are thankful for a more stable and competent group of captains and brigadiers. Amazingly, our donors continue to support us.
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"Rescue" — Poem written by Pearl Gerstein, a 4th-grade student under the tutelage of Newter, Kirsten Franklin.
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4th Grader's Poem
Kirsten Franklin, a retired elementary school teacher for Petaluma City Schools and an active Newt Brigadier, has continued to offer students a unique, project-based learning unit about California newts and the Chileno Valley Newt Brigade. One of her students, Pearl Gerstein, a 5th grader at McNear School, wrote an amazing poem (see above). Click here for more information about Kirsten's unique learning project.
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A juvenile newt introduces itself to a newt Brigadier (Video by Christyne Davidian)
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New Wildlife Crossing Fund / New Newt Brigades
We are not alone! The National Wildlife Federation has launched the Wildlife Crossings Fund, whose goal is to raise 500 million dollars to support road crossings across the USA. And to date, 9 newt activists have reached out to the CVNB for help in starting their own Newt Brigades, that last being in Switzerland. Their websites will be shared as they become established. We continue to assist them.
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An encounter with a juvenile newt on Chileno Valley Road
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Instagram
We wish to thank Malia Helms and Richard James for the clever and diligent work on the CVNB instagram account. This is our way of keeping our supporters up to date through news and photos the Brigadiers take themselves. Please check out our Instagram feed here.
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Captains Kathy Scott, Lance Barlas and the "Terrific Tuesdays" Brigadier group.
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More Good Stuff ...
— USGS Reptile and Amphibian Road Ecology
— UC Davis Road Ecology Center has updates on new crossings and research.
— The Western Wildlife Society addresses the plight of wildlife who must cross the many roads that intersect their habitat.
We are always looking for more brigadiers. If you have an interest in volunteering, please visit the Chileno Valley Newt Brigade website,
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