Tucson Reptile and Amphibian Show and Sale
Mood:  happy
Topic: Places to go

Frog Blog Profile with Jeff Hohman of East Kentucky Power
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Frog Blog Profiles

I love doing profiles. I get the opportunity to share what a special person is doing to help amphibians as I learn more myself. I met Mr. Hohman at the PARC meeting, when we were going around the room saying our name and affiliation so everyone could see who was there. When Jeff's turn was up, he said he had to stand and told everyone how happy he was to be part of something like this. It's no wonder he works for a power company, this man radiates positive energy. I have always been happy with who I am and where I am, but I have to admit, I wish I could be a fourth grader from eastern Kentucky.

 

Top Ten Questions on the Board

Wendell’s Frog Blog Online Interview 

WFB: 1)    Name, Rank and Serial Number. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Maybe a little about your family? (Married? Siblings?) Hobbies?

 Jeff Hohman – Biologist with East Kentucky Power since 1979. Wonderful Wife – Debbie; Incredible Daughters – Lauren and Madison. Lauren is a sophomore at Murray State (my alma mater) and Madison is a freshman at College of Charleston. They are my best herp buddies.

 WFB: 2)  What sparked your interest in amphibians? What is your favorite amphibian, and why? 

JEH: I caught my first salamander in the creek behind my house when I was 8 or 9 years old. I think it was a streamside salamander but that was a bazillion years ago. I was hooked immediately. My favorite salamanders are the Tiger Salamander and the Hellbender. My favorite frogs are the Crawfish Frog and the Spadefoot Toad. 

WFB: 3)  Do you keep any pets? 

JEH: At home, we have a cat (Johnnie) and a dog (Samson). I am not a cat lover but Madison adopted the cat and then left for college. Samson, on the other hand, is an awesome Sheltie and I LOVE that dog. All my herp pets are kept at work. I have a juvenile corn snake in my office. Cool snake!

 WFB: 4)  How are you involved with amphibians and their conservation? 

JEH: I work for a company that is completely dedicated to environmental education. We have 6 biologists on staff that perform Rare and Endangered Species surveys prior to construction of any projects. During the school year we perform various nature programs at schools throughout eastern Ky.  All of our programs focus on native species and you can check them out at ekpc.coop (click on the frog).  

WFB: 5)  How did you get involved in this? 

JEH: About 15 years ago, I was asked by a teacher to come to her school on career day and share what I did for EKPC. I gathered up some of my herp friends and took them with me. I had a hognose snake and some salamanders. The kids went nuts and the rest is history. What a life-changing experience that was. 

WFB: 6)  What has been the most fulfilling part of working with amphibians for you? 

JEH: Teaching kids of all ages about the wonders of Kentucky’s rich natural history. I love to see those faces light up when we pull a rat snake out of the bag and hand it to them. It never gets old. 

WFB: 7)   What would be the best way for others to get involved as you have? 

JEH: If you have a passion for herps, share that with kids. We find the best age for learning is 4^th grade and up. The younger kids love the animals but

they don’t follow instructions very well and that puts the animals at risk. Collect a few amphibians and non-biting reptiles and take them to area schools, camps or civic groups and share what you love. It is as easy as falling off a log and a lot more fun.

 WFB: 8)  How did you learn about amphibians to do what you do? 

 JEH: I have been a fan since I was a kid. I have had great teachers and I have been blessed to have great herp friends to encourage me and inspire me.  It is easy to learn about things you love. 

WFB: 9)  What is the most important thing you want others to know? 

JEH: Education is the key to effective conservation. If you can take a few minutes to show a student a snake, chances are he will never consider killing that animal as an adult. It is much cheaper than litigation and government regulation. 

WFB: 10)                     Do you have anything else you would like to share? (websites, contact info, other affiliations)

 JEH: Check out our website at EKPC.coop and happy herpin!

In the email correspondence, he signs them JEH, though I can't say for sure what the "E" stands for, my guess is either Energy, Effort or Enthusiasm. I would like to thank Jeff and his whole team for the phenomenal work they do. There is no doubt in my mind they are making a huge positive impact on the world one fourth grader at a time. Those kids will be the decision makers and it would sure be nice to have them thinking about herp conservation! On behalf of my Frog Blog, Herpers and Herps from around the world, Thank You!

Herp Digest is Back
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: Media

This is terrific news! This is THE source for herp news. "All the herp news thats fit to print" It has it all, and is once again free. The latest issue has a story titled "Tarahumara Frogs Find Life is Good at Wildlife Museum, (Arizona)", there are also many other reptile related stories. Herp Digest

The same guy that does Herp Digest also has Herparts.com, "Your one-stop online shop for amphibian and reptile gifts". They have just added the 2007 Frog Calendars, they look awesome! There is also just all sorts of cool gift items, even if the gift is for yourself. All the proceeds from Herparts.com go toward HerpDigest. HerpDigest runs strictly off of these proceeds and donations. If you like it, support it so it'll be able to stay around.

Jeff Hohman talks at the Short's Goldenrod Festival at Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Articles

Blue Licks biology

Goldenrod Festival focuses on environment

If you ever get the chance to hear this guy, don't miss it! He is a great speaker and very motivating. I already did some kids programs before I saw him, but I have new ideas to make them better and more exciting for the kids. You also have to check out their website. Very cool stuff including frog ringtones! Touchstone Energy

Traveling Snake thrills and lemonade spills
Mood:  accident prone
Topic: Out in the Field
Friday the kids had a half day of school for a teacher's in service, so we took the opportunity and advantage of the beautiful day for a road trip. At the Midwest PARC meeting I had met Bob Hay from Wisconsin that had a couple of snakes that originated in Indiana and were confiscated in Wisconsin. He brought them to the meeting to find a ride home for them. He had the precise location where they were captured and so we were off to Southeastern Indiana. It was about two and a half hours, and if you have ever been in a car with a spouse and three kids, that seems like an eternity. But we made it alright. The location was beautiful. There was a stone bridge and a small creek with lots of flat rock. (Limestone or shale I would guess) Down the creek a little was a small waterfall. These snakes were lucky to be able to return to such a beautiful spot. We took them out one at a time and got a few pictures before letting the go home. The northern watersnake seemed to be a little hesitant before swimming off under a rock, but the queen snake wasted no time finding cover. Upon arrival we did see another reptile with not so good of fate. A small box turtle had been flattened next to the bridge. Its crazy that these snakes were taken from their home, traveled nearly 1300 miles through three states, and this little guy was just crossing the road is his own yard. We also found bullfrog and green frog metamorphs, as well as two of each queen snakes and northern water snakes. One queen snake looked bigger than the other two, but not by much. I think the others were all neonates. While searching I had the opportunity to use my new Furmont "Stump Ripper" and it is AWESOME! My back was grateful. I even found a bullfrog using it. the rocks in the creek were slippery and my daughter wound up doing the splits and keeping herself just out of the water until I could pick her up. I don't know how she didn't get wet. The buckeyes were also everywhere and we each took one. Just after putting one in my pocket is when we found the first snake! After we explored a while we decided it was time to head home and get a bite to eat. We stopped at LaRosa's Pizzeria just off of I74 at the Batesville exit. If your ever travelling I74, look out for it, this place was fantastic! The pizza was heavenly, and the lemonade was ice cold. My wife sat across from me in a booth and knocked over her lemonade (full glass) into my lap. Maybe the buckeye isn't so lucky. I don't know what was worse, the freezing feeling in this part of my body, or the looks when I got up to leave with yellow liquid all down the front of my pants. She took a picture, but don't look for me to post that one. I was pretty much dry by the time we got home and it was a great feeling to know that those two snakes are finally back where they belong. Sometimes we look too big trying to save an entire species, but individuals need our help too. Keep working on the Big picture, but don't forget the little guy either.

Not all agree with the ESA
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Articles

The Endangered Species Act

I guess there are passionate people on both sides of the fence. I fail to see how "environmentalists" are only concerned with controlling land usage though. This is what America is all about, people with different views hashing it out and the courts coming up with a suitable middle ground. I do not agree with most of what Mr. Caldwell has to say, but he brings up good points. I feel that with the ongoing genetic research eventually the species/subspecies debate will pass. If we lose an animal before that happens, there is no bringing it back. Another thing that really bothers me is the line of thinking that these animals have the nerve to be on private land when public land is available. This reminds me of so many examples of how mankind moved in on amphibian land and claimed it as our own. This sounds like moving Native Americans from large regions and forcing them to live on small reservations. How can anyone see this as the right thing to do? Lets hope not too many species are lost before we can figure this out. Right now the Wisconsin government is attempting to remove the Butler's Garter Snake from their endangered list without any science to back up their decision. The vote is on Sept 26th and I encourage anyone with an opinion to let them know. More info about this can be found at Butler's Garter Snake Delisting - A Dangerous Precedent  I encourage you all to voice your opinions. I have sent letters to Wisconsin as well as my home state of Indiana legislature. If this passes it could have national implications and your legislature needs to be aware of your views.

How effective are Sniffer Dogs
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Articles

'Too late' for toad sniffer dogs in NT

I see their point, but if you only get what you see, then the rest will continue to reproduce at higher rates to make up the difference. It looks like a Catch 22.

Amphibian Declines even on Network TV
Mood:  down
Topic: Media

Just like its frog, WB croaks

I, for one, will miss the frog. I have no idea what CW even means. Thw WB was there with many great shows, and some not so great. Where will the animaniacs live now? Will they repaint the water tower? I understand that progress is progress, but it was nice to see an amphibian on TV, even if it was Michigan J. Frog or Kermit. Amphibian awareness is the first step to conservation and this will be a draw back to that. Goodbye Michigan J. Frog, you will be missed. 

Half human-half amphibian:Marvel's Submariner
Mood:  not sure
Topic: Articles

Here are a few articles about this new movie in the works. I must admit I'm not a big comic fan, but I do like movies about these superheros. This one leaves me unsure though, I can understand an alien from Krypton (I know it's DC, but work with me) or a rich kid with bats in his belfry, even a spider bite from a radio active arachnid, but given basic biology, how is a half human-half amphibian possible? At least with X-men they are all encompassing mutants. Was this done in a lab? Did a salamander use a discarded condom as a spermataphore? Was a couple fooling around in a frog pond? Like I said I don't follow comics, so if you know feel free to enlighten us on what is going on here.

Marvel Taps T3 Director for Sub-Mariner

Sub Mariner Movie Moves Ahead

Mostow to take on latest Marvel Superhero movie

Amphibian Declines in the Mediterranian
Mood:  blue
Topic: Articles

Mediterranean wildlife under threat

This is a very diverse area that is seeing signs of decline. The good part is:

"The IUCN's Mediterranean Red List of Threatened Species is being made available to policy makers and environmental planners in order to help them reduce the loss of biodiversity in the Mediterranean."

Why did the Cane Toad cross the border?
Mood:  sad
Topic: Articles

No, it has nothing to do with toads playing chicken!

Live cane toad crosses WA-NT border

Its a sad reality that these toads are using human technology to expand their territories. Whether its hitch hiking on a vehicle or using a road for an easier passage, they are moving to new areas. I hate the idea of killing these toads for doing what toads do, but I hope the idea of the fertilizer spreads (no pun intended) so that they are not dying in vain.

South African Frog Tour
Topic: Places to go

Safari to frogland

This sounds like my kind of vacation! What excitement it would be to go to a place like this. I think its terrific that they are now including frogs in their tour, I would love to see the big five if I ever make it to Africa, but a frog tour would be so incredible.

Orange County Hoppers
Mood:  happy
Topic: Articles

Could this frog stop a county beach?

Its great that the cricket frog's habitat and well being is being looked into for this development project. With the recent declines of the cricket frog, it is important to learn as much about them as we can. The cricket frog would be the best for an amphibians mascot in court because it is so small in size yet has such a loud voice.

Frog Farmer in LA
Topic: Articles

Man turns from frog hunter to frog fancier

This is what I like to see. A frog farmer staying where the frogs are native, but captive rearing them so it doesn't hurt the local population. Being native, if a few get out now and again, it shouldn't be a huge ecological problem like it would be where the frog doesn't belong, but it could still have an impact. It sounds like he has everything together though and is doing things right.

What is the best way to catch a toad
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: Articles

Know the difference

Even if their methods are different, both the Kimberley Toad Busters and the Stop The Toad Foundation have the same eventual goal. Public volunteers will have a wide range of why they are participating in projects like these, and its great that they have a choice to best fit their needs. I think the two should embrace each other and celebrate their differences rather than fightings about it and trying to put the other down. Even if the success isn't measurable in toads, in simple awareness it is huge.

Midwest PARC Annual Meeting Review (part four)
Mood:  party time!
Topic: Articles

 This poem was tied to a tree along a trail.

     Jeff Hohman from Touchstone Energy in Kentucky talked to us about “What we learn with Pleasure, We never Forget. He was a great speaker and very motivating. He works for the educational department for Touchstone Energy. That is so great that an energy company would have a program like this. They do school programs for Kentucky fourth graders with live salamanders, frogs and snakes. He said they tried lizards, but after an escape at a school library, they don’t do that anymore. They also do bats and wildflowers, but his focus was on herps. He said that adults are boring and don’t listen anyway! The key is to teach the kids and get them excited and that will last them a lifetime. His goal is for one on the fourth graders that saw his program to grow up to be judges and politicians and that they’ll remember that snakes are cool, and will help protect that salamander or frog. He was a little intimidated by being put between dinner and the beer and bonfire. It was an awesome presentation, well worth waiting for the beer. They also gave away posters of the herps of KY and CDs of the Frog Calls of KY, stickers and tattoos and even herp trading cards! These were free to everyone, and then they had a few door prizes. The grand prize was a gold snake hook called a Furmont “Stump Ripper”. I was the lucky winner. I got a few dirty looks but several called the man with the “golden stick”.(Y’all just jealous!) I tried it out and it is great. The frog calls on the CD are available on their site as ringtones; I would not recommend the Fowler’s toad for a ring tone, especially if you have a heart condition. Their site is awesome. : Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Environmental Education Programs. 

  

I even squeezed in a little night herping with some new friends.

         Greg Lipps did a morning wrap up and we broke into working groups. I joined the group for education and outreach. We discussed many topics but the ones that were decided most prevalent and what we decided to work on were “Herp Friendly Homes” or as another group had called it, the “Good Herpkeeping Seal of Approval” Several ideas are in the works on getting how to make your Backyard herp friendly. We also discussed “Recommended guidelines for Herp Education and Outreach” This will take longer but several ideas are being worked on. It was great that so many fields from amateur enthusiast like me to field researchers and lab researchers all together working on a like goal. I feel we really got a lot accomplished, and I look forward to following through with our goals. Other groups worked on topics such as Range maps, Assessment of Management Techniques, incorporating PARC into State action plans, and many others. Much was accomplished, but much is left to do. With over 70 attendees, it looks like the Midwest will once again be a strong herpetological force.  

          Bob Brodman and Greg Lipps were voted as the MW PARC co-chairs for the next year. Congratulations to them both. They are both great guys and I think PARC is in great hands. Afterwards there was a field trip to the LaRue-Pine Hills area (Snake Road) which I have been promised some emailed pictures. I can’t wait to find out what all they saw.  A huge thanks to the planning committee and to the sponsors, The Center for Reptile and Amphibian Conservation Management, Touchstone Energy, and Forestry Suppliers, Inc. for a spectacular event.

Midwest PARC Annual Meeting Review (part three)
Mood:  special
Topic: Articles

We then heard from the Distinguished Guest Speaker, Tyrone Hayes from the University of California, Berkeley. WOW! He is the best presenter of anything I have ever seen. I don’t know what was more impressive, the depth of the research he has done on the effects of Atrazine and other pesticides on frogs development, or his humor about those that try so hard, but in vain, to discredit his work... “From Silent Spring to Silent Night: Pesticides, Amphibian Declines and Public Health Connections” was the title of his presentation. He started his presentation with thank yous to Syngenta, that initially funded his work and now keep him on his toes by their endless attempts to skew or discredit what he has done, but he seriously thanked his family and dedicated the presentation to his Grandmother that inspired him and recently passed. Atrazine has been used for 48years, about 80 million pounds annually and is now the number 2 leading chemical used. Syngenta wants him to stress that they are now number two to Round up, they must be proud to have fallen from number 1 for so many years. They also want him to stress that Atrazine is not “outlawed” in Europe; the European governments just deny it registration. His work started originally with African Clawed Frogs, Xenopus, and now has moved to native leopard frogs including pipiens, blairi and utricularia. He has found Atrazine to “chemically and genetically castrate” male frogs creating hermaphrodites, although Syngenta prefers the term “demasculinize”. Syngenta as well as the EPA are arguing over whether this is a normal natural occurrence. Is it normal for eggs to grow inside the gonads in place of sperm? It has been found that in a fertility clinic, men with trace amounts of Atrazine in their urine have a lower sperm count. (I realize that I’m not a scientist, but this looks like a pretty direct correlation to me.) Can we blame Atrazine? He did the CSI approach and did experiments with the various combinations that would appear in the wetlands. Everything was double coded so that he had part of the info and his students the other half, so that neither knew until the experiment was over what animal was treated with what chemical. The results surprised me a little. Even chemicals that by themselves showed no ill effect, when combined with others had a delay in development. The more chemicals, the longer the delay. In field experiments, it was found that a longer morph time due to chemicals left a smaller rather than larger frog. Maybe the pesticides are not directly the culprit, but they create a stressor, and stress is affecting the immuno system. It is also affecting the immuno system of snails that host parasites that effect frogs. Many times he stressed the point that -"We are not seeing frogs with pesticide poisoning, what you see is frogs dying in drying ponds, getting eaten or not finding food.”  None of these seems like a pesticide problem, but looking at the fact that it is making them develop slower, drying ponds become a factor. Smaller frogs are more likely to be eaten and to be out competed with for food. He also mentioned Syngenta’s website for information countering his, what he called the “I hate Tyrone Hayes site” which after review is a fairly good subtitle for the site.  He spoke a little about some of these studies and although they didn’t produce hermaphrodites, 87 of the 90 frogs died! In the real world outside the lab, I guess a hermaphrodite frog would at least have the joy of unsuccessfully trying to reproduce where the dead frog is saved the agony of failure. A few other tidbits, the EPA allowance for Atrazine in drinking water is 30x that which cause sexual deformities in frogs. Testosterone levels have been decreased with Atrazine in every animal class, mammals included. Atrazine levels in field applicator’s urine are 24,000x what it takes to chemically castrate frogs. Increased levels of Atrazine have also been seen to be related to breast cancer. He finished his presentation with a rhyme emphasizing the important information in a fun way for such a scary topic. If you ever get the opportunity to see Dr. Hayes, I highly recommend it. He will be speaking Animal Physiology Conference  at Virginia Beach, Virginia on Oct 9^th. For more about Hayes work I recommend this article by William Souder (Author of a Plague of Frogs) US: It's Not Easy Being Green: Are weed-killers turning frogs into hermaphrodites?  Here is one about the EPA and pesticides: Amphibian not living fairy-tale life

A special thanks to Dr. Hayes and to Greg Lipps for taking the photo so I could be in it. Keep checking back for a Frog Blog Profile with Tyrone Hayes.

Midwest PARC Annual Meeting Review (part two)
Mood:  on fire
Topic: Articles

     

 Here are the poster presentations for PARC that were at the meeting. There is some very interesting research going on throughout the Midwest.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

We learned about the “Eastern Massasauga Recovery Team” from Mike Redmer. This rattlesnake is listed as endangered everywhere it occurs except Michigan, where it considered a species of special concern. In 1999 it became a National candidate, which basically means nothing other than there are more funding available for research on a candidate species opposed to a non candidate species.Gary Casper spoke about “Case Study: Inserting Herp Conservation into Wetland Restorations”. He talked of Wildlife habitat evaluation in a wetland restoration, which has huge implications not just in Wisconsin, but also throughout the Midwest, and even the world. The basics are the same. You can check out the Milwaukee River Basin Wetland Assessment Project: Developing Decision Support Tools for Effective Planning (2006, PDF, 4 MB)   

         We then learned from Bob Hay about an atrocity happening in Wisconsin with the Butler’s Garter Snake. The government is attempting to remove it from the endangered species list with no scientific backing. They are trying to strong arm the state biologists into doing this for a September 26^th vote. The biologists are holding their ground and it will be curious to see what will come. This case could be used as a precedent for similar cases all over the US. I strongly urge everyone to look into this and see what you think. I encourage everyone to check out this site for more information and a sample letter that you could send. If you are from Wisconsin it would mean more, but with the possibility of having national implications, I urge you all to respond. Butler's Garter Snake Delisting - A Dangerous Precedent  I got a chance to talk to Bob afterwards and given the opportunity to do a favor for nature. He had a northern water snake and a queen snake that had been collected in Indiana and taken to Wisconsin where the queen snake is protected, so they were confiscated. He gave me the exact location of where they were collected and I’m going to take them back to their home Thursday. When I release them their estimated travel will be about 1289 miles and 21 ½ hours. That’s some pretty good time for legless animals. After putting my Aunt and Uncle on the spot with the Tar heal Toad it feels good to do this, well, even better than it would have before the toad.    

         There were project updates from Bruce Kingsbury and the Herp Center’s projects including a revised Midwest Habitat Management Guidelines, Gary Casper got a mention in the Aquaculture in Wisconsin and the Great Lakes States that it can actually be damaging to wildlife. He also talked of a companion book to Lannoo’s about reptiles in the MW and US. Mike Lannoo talked about a North American Amphibian Atlas that would include Canada. It would have briefer descriptions and more color photos. Dan Ludwig talked about starting a Blanding’s turtle (maybe also spotted) Recovery Team similar to the Massasauga team and the Illinois DNR’s EcoCAT  , and Mark Roth spoke about ARMI atlas and how it is being used to look for patterns in disease and contamination. A workshop for “Understanding Agriculture’s effects on Amphibians and Reptiles in A Changing World”  Will be held in St. Louis February 6-8 2007.

School yard Habitat frog friendly!
Mood:  happy
Topic: Articles

Fifth-graders show their roots

This is so nice to hear. It is wonderful that a school would do this so that the children can experience nature daily. Even though this was in New Jersey, it could be done anywhere. I encourage all teachers to check into it and if you have a program already in place, see about making it more amphibian friendly!

Great writing about a great cause
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Articles

Vilas Zoo at forefront in saving frogs

When I read this article I was not sure if I was more impressed with the lengths this zoo is going to to make their habitats as natural as possible, including simulated sun rise and set and thunderstorms, or the writing of the story. It has the hook of a suspense novel with the facts being real. After I started my post I looked at the bottom and saw the author is a sophmore in highschool! I would like to say thanks to Jonah Huang and I'll keep a look out for you on the best sellers list. I see great things in your future!