Portland State University
$96,526  West Cascades 

This project will expand ongoing work that investigates wetland resilience to drought by quantifying wetland hydroperiods and amphibian recruitment success in and around the Mt. Hood Area COA. Using automated sensors, water level data will be recorded from 42 distinct zones (i.e., channels, ponds and vegetated areas) across 17 wetlands. These data will be compared to existing climate datasets and made publicly available via Story Map. Community scientists and PSU students will participate in amphibian egg mass and larvae surveys at a subset of sites. Ultimately, this project will reveal which types of wetland zones are most resilient to drought or where wetland enhancement activities may be needed to boost water storage to better support some of Oregon’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need (e.g., Cascades frog, Northern red-legged frog, Oregon spotted frog and Western toad).