photograph a salamander in the wild

I was at the Oregon/California border visiting friends of a friend. They’re big into defending the environment, and they regularly take issue with the logging that is happening near their land. We went for a hike one afternoon to a place that L had recently discovered; we sat near a waterfall and had lunch – it was beautiful. Suddenly S pointed into the water and said, “Look!” It was a Siskyou salamander, a species that is highly endangered directly because of the destruction of the environment due to logging. When we looked closer we saw lots of these little guys in the pool, and I found a way to shimmy out on a branch with the camera to get a photo and avoid the glare off the water. S said a clear photo would be useful in their efforts.

When I was growing up we had so many salamanders that lived on our families property out in the woods at the base of Goat’s mountain, near Estacada. I used to go out and look for salamanders in the mud and one time found a huge pregnant mom and so I build a whole outdoor house around her home so I could hang out. It was under a great big tree and I would sweep the pine needles like it was my living room floor. I didn’t have a camer back then, but later in life I took a picture of myself kissing a salamander at the Clackamas River. They also live in grass yards, so be careful when you mow. When you get your picture..put it on here for us to see!!