News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Meag Schwartz points at a crater in the woods of Island Park on Thursday to show where vernal pools might show up later in April. Vernal pools are small bodies of water that act as wetlands for amphibians and crustaceans only seen between April and May.

ALPENA — Sometimes known as the coral reefs of northern U.S. forests, because of their vast biodiversity, vernal pools are small bodies of water that act as wetlands for amphibians and crustaceans only seen between April and May.

On May 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Herman Vogler Conservation Area in Rogers City, educators, organization partners, and anyone interested in learning more about the Northeast Michigan environment are welcome to a field training workshop to learn how to monitor and collect data from vernal pools, according to Meag Schwartz, network coordinator of the regional organization Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative.

Schwartz said vernal pools are nursery grounds for salamanders, wood frogs, and fairy shrimp and are very important for the environment.

“Wetlands are one of the most biodiversity wetlands out there,” she said. “Vernal pools are usually in hardwood forests with oak and maple trees and they’re a very specific ecosystem type. The areas that vernal pools are in are continually threatened by development projects and pollution.”

According to Schwartz, the knowledge learned at the workshop will allow people to identify vernal pools and contribute to the Natural Features Inventory database for the wetlands.

“It’s important that we know where Michigan vernal pools are so we can map them out and let development companies know where wetlands are,” Schwartz said. “When you’re building, you have to have a permit if you’re going to be filling in a wetland because you need to replace them.”

Pollution also challenges vernal pools, according to Schwartz, as agricultural runoff can cause algal blooms, which are extremely dangerous for wildlife in the bodies of water.

Amphibians living in vernal pools can also absorb toxic chemicals mixed in the water and into their systems.

“They’re kind of a really big biological indicator when it comes to seeing a change in pollution impact because they live on land and water and their skin is typically membranous,” Schwartz said. “When amphibians leave, it’s usually an indicator of bad stuff in the pool.”

The Stewardship Initiative, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, and the Presque Isle Conservation District collaborated to put on an event that can only have 30 participants.

Visit www.nemiglsi.org and look under the ‘calendar and events’ tab to register for the workshop on May 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.