Ryder Lake Amphibian Protection Project

Juvenile Killed Just Outside of Road Closure Area

One aspect of the Ryder Lake Amphibian Protection Project is to identify the migration patterns of the Western Toad along with other species of Amphibians. There are three migrations every year, two of which are the adults migrating to and then from the wetlands during the breeding season, while the third solely consists of the juveniles’ mass migration from the wetlands to the forested upland. For the past three years including this one, the Fraser Valley Conservancy has utilized selective road closures to allow safe and natural crossings for the young toadlets.

During the spring night-time adult migrations, the FVC is monitoring locations and collecting data on crossing sites. The data collected during these three migration events will provide FVC, the community, stakeholders and municipal leaders with useful insight into amphibian migration patterns and will help determine locations for long-term solutions such as a “wildlife guard” modeled after a cattle guard.

Year round, the Fraser Valley Conservancy raises money for this project through the ‘Toonies for Toads’ Campaign. The toonies collected will be used to pay for the migration monitoring, traffic control during the toadlet migration and hopefully in the near future, a tunnel structure and fencing.

You can help by collecting toonies or you can make a donation, for info please see this page.

Overall Project Objectives

1. Understand the migration route of the Western Toad and other amphibian species in the area and identify threats;
2. Collaborate and engage the community in determining effective and safe long-term solutions for the migrating amphibians;
3. Increase awareness and understanding of human-wildlife relationships.