This project concluded in 2015. The goal of the MARA project was to document the current distributions of Maryland’s amphibian and reptile species using a systematic and repeatable approach.
The state of Maryland conducted a systematic search for its reptiles and amphibians and documented their presence. In a small section of Maryland along the NW Branch, volunteers Glenn Welch, Charlie Dorian, and Gretchen Schwartz participated in the search. Glenn, a board member of NNWB, is a biology major who, though he enjoys flipping rocks for the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas (MARA), works in a research lab at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Charlie, a retired chemist and clean water volunteer passed away in 2016 (link to memoriam), and Gretchen consults part-time for NIH and teaches at University of Maryland University College. Charlie and Gretchen were also Rock Creek Conservancy Stream Team Program volunteers for Wheaton Claridge Park. Gretchen and Glenn are also members of our stream water quality monitoring team.