What does it take to bring a tiny, specialized creature back from the brink of extinction? Spend your lunch hour with Ian Ives of Mass Audubon’s Spadefoot Toad Conservation Project to find out! Since 2011, Mass Audubon has established a translocated population of spadefoots at newly created vernal pools at Ashumet Holly Wildlife Sanctuary in East Falmouth. This project is a first for this state-threatened species and only the third vertebrate species translocation in Massachusetts. Hear from Ian about the diverse efforts that make this work possible, from endangered species conservation to ecological restoration to public education.
You may also be interested in the accompanying night monitoring walk on Thursday, September 18. Learn more & register.
Ian Ives is the sanctuary manager at Mass Audubon’s Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary in Barnstable. Ian has led the pioneering Eastern Spadefoot Toad Conservation Project at Mass Audubon sanctuaries and other protected lands in Massachusetts. His job responsibilities include overall management of the sanctuaries, community outreach, advocacy, environmental conservation, and education. One of his primary goals is to engage the community in Mass Audubon’s mission work and expand activities at the wildlife sanctuaries he oversees. Formerly, Ian was a field biologist for Hyla Ecological Services in Concord, MA, and a zookeeper at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston.