Biologist Matt Burne participated in the first formal vernal pool survey of the Middlesex Fells Reservation, which serves as a breeding area for a variety of amphibians, including salamanders, frogs, toads, insects and other invertebrates.

Pictured: Burne inspected a net with his son.

Burne got his hands dirty as he searched for algae and amphibians.

Burne held a spotted salamander, proving that the pond in the Middlesex Fells Reservation was a vernal pool.

Only 24 vernal pools have been certified at the Fells but aerial photographs have captured a total of 100 potential pools. Burne [pictured] estimated that there is the potential for 50 additional pools that have not been photographed.

This spotted salamander was evidence that the pond off of the Painted Trail in the Middlesex Fells Reservation is a vernal pool.

This clam shrimp is a rare animal that can only be found in the Fells and a few other places in Massachusetts.

This frog, more commonly known as a spring peeper, lays its eggs in vernal pools. They are small and easy to miss. Frogs, like other animals found in the Fells, usually rely on the environmental circumstances provided by the ponds to survive.

Wood frogs can be found in the Middlesex Fells. They utilize the vernal pools to breed in the spring.

It’s important to locate and certify vernal pools so the conservation agency’s staff will know where pools are and can facilitate their protection.

Pictured: An american toad chorused in a pond at the Middlesex Fells.