For far too many years vernal pools were neglected waters. Although they support a rich and fascinating blend of wildlife, these woodland wetlands rarely appeared on conservation maps. Vernal pool discovery and conservation were haphazard. No more. Vernal pools are now taking their rightful place as wetlands for study, enjoyment, and conservation.
In collaboration with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (VFWD), VCE created the Vermont Vernal Pool Atlas (VPAtlas), a state-wide repository of all things vernal pool. VPAtlas is a web-available database of vernal pool location data, monitoring data, and an interactive Community Science data-gathering tool that welcomes public use. Anyone can become a VPAtlas user and contribute to this community resource by recording their observations of vernal pool locations, indicator species, and more.
The VPAtlas is an outgrowth of the Vernal Pool Mapping Project, which VCE initiated in 2008 along with Arrowwood Environmental, during which we mapped the location of over 4,000 remotely-sensed “potential” pools, as well as several hundred field-verified pools. View The Vermont Vernal Pool Mapping Project Final Report.
Click on the image (right) to launch VPAtlas. As a visitor you can view and search for pool location data. If you register as a VPAtlas User, you can then add pool data, including ‘New’ pools which have not been previously mapped, as well as new ‘Visits’ to previously-mapped pools. You can also upload photos of pools and indicator species.
