All About the Newts
A Newt Life
A newt is a type of salamander. They are a native species. Their skin is toxic to predators. They can live for 30 years.
Newts and other amphibians maintain biodiversity balance. They are a natural defense against pests. They devour pest larvae and can mitigate diseases that affect livestock.
Most of Chileno Valley’s newts are the California or Rough-skinned. Both migrate from December to March. They have different life cycles. California Newts move from the hills to the lake when the Rough-skinned Newts are headed in the other direction.
There are “Big Nights” when newts move as a group and are more vulnerable.
The newts in Chileno Valley are not on the endangered or threatened lists. They are a “species of special concern.” The Newt Brigade hopes to maintain a stable population, and keep the local amphibians from being listed.
For more information and findings on CVNB’s first season click here.
Watch: How Amphibians Restore Balance to the Land (8 min.)
Brief Introduction to California Newts
In Defence of Great Crested Newts: Why These Elusive Amphibians are Worth the Worry
Watch: This short CBS "Sunday Morning" video shows California Newt breeding and feeding behavior in a Redwood forrest stream in Los Gatos, California (2021).
Further Resources
Other Newts Migrations
Be on the Lookout for Breeding Salamanders and Frogs Crossing Roads
NY Up | March 12, 2019
Tilden Park, East Bay
East Bay Parks | November 2018
Passage in the night: Volunteers guide salamanders to safety in annual migration
Concord Monitor | April 13, 2018
Spring Amphibians, on the Move, Could Use Some Crossing Guards
New York Times | March 3, 2017
Pacific Newt Migration - Lexington Reservoir (Santa Clara County)
Tunnels and Other Solutions
Road Mitigation Using Tunnels and Fences Promotes Site Connectivity and Population Expansion for a Protected Amphibian
European Journal of Wildlife Research | February 2019
Protected great crested newt populations expand due to under-road tunnels
Froglife | February 2019
How did the newt cross the road?
Froglife | March 2017
Evaluating the Effects of Abiotic and Biotic Factors on Movement Through Wildlife Crossing Tunnels During Migration of the California Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma californiense
Herpetological Conservation and Biology | December 2016 | Tracy K. Bain, David G. Cook, and Derek J. Girman
There Are Teeny Tiny Underpasses for Salamanders in Massachusetts
Boston.com | March 2015
Tunnel of love for Stanford's salamanders / Breeding amphibians offered way to escape commuters' cars
SF Gate | August 2001
Maintain habitat connectivity: Amphibian and reptile tunnels
Massachusetts Wildlife Climate Action Tool
Underpass Systems For Amphibians (PDF)
Department of Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst | 1996
Action: Install culverts or tunnels as road crossings
Conservation Evidence
By the Numbers
Field Reports from the 2019 Amphibian Migration
Harris Center for Conservation Education | May 2019
Drift fences in traps: theoretical evidence of effectiveness of the two most common arrays applied to terrestrial tetrapods
Natureza & Conservação | March 2015 | Daniel Mincauscaste Mendesa, Rafael de Freitas Leãob, and Luís Felipe Toledoa
Getting the Drift: Examining the Effects of Timing, Trap Type and Taxon on Herpetofaunal Drift Fence SurveysThe American Midland Naturalist | April 2007 | Brian D. Todd, Christopher T. Winne, John D. Willson and J. Whitfield Gibbo
Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings
Department of Environmental Conservation