Plymouth Non-Profit Needs Volunteers For Rouge River Frog, Toad Survey

PLYMOUTH, MI — A Plymouth non-profit is looking for volunteers to participate in the 2025 Annual Rouge Frog and Toad Survey.

Friends of the Rouge started the survey in 1998 to collect data about the health of the Rouge River wetlands, which are critical to the health of the watershed.

The Volunteers will learn the calls of eight local frogs and toads to identify the amphibians. The volunteers will be assigned to survey blocks within the Rouge River Watershed. They will also be required to visit the blocks several times a month on damp, warm nights, March through July.

The group uses the presence of frogs and toads to determine the overall health of the wetlands, as the animals disappear when wetlands are too polluted or destroyed.

"The Frog and Toad Survey is a great way for everyone to get to know more about local wildlife and wetlands while contributing to this important data collection," said Friends of the Rouge Watershed Ecologist Sally Petrella said.

Interested volunteers must pre-register for the training session that will take place on Saturday, Feb. 22nd from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Livonia Civic Center Library, located at 32777 Five Mile Road, Livonia.

The Rouge River Watershed contains portions of three counties: Oakland County has lost 55 percent, Washtenaw County 53 percent and Wayne County 90 percent.

The group said Michigan has lost 60 percent of its original wetlands.