Friends of Wachusett Mountain is a non-profit group dedicated to conservation,
environmental education and land stewardship at Wachusett Mountain.

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Keep Your Fish to Yourself

We're counting on you to help keep the Summit Pond pure!

Over the past 25 years or so, people have become used to feeding the fish in the small pond located at the summit. Did you know that most of the fish you've observed in this pond are exotic fish probably dumped in from someone's aquarium?

Although the pond appears to be manmade at first glance, historic descriptions and photographs indicate this pond is a natural feature predating recreational use of Wachusett Mountain. This pond is one of the highest elevation functional vernal pools (maybe the highest) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Why are the fish bad for the vernal pool environment? There are several native frogs and salamanders that live in this pond. For at least the past 6 years, wood frogs do not even lay eggs this pond, but do in a nearby pond. This is probably because either the fish ate all the eggs and/or tadpoles year after year until the wood frog population died out. Alternatively, the adults may be able to detect the fish and lay their eggs in another pond. Spotted salamanders continue to breed in this pond, but we are not sure if their larvae achieve metamorphosis on a regular basis or if they are mostly eaten. Eastern newts also live in this pond year-round, but their toxic skin probably prevents fish from eating the adults. However the fish got there, they are not a natural part of the pond and could ultimately lead to complete eradication of some of the native amphibians.

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Special Thanks To

Please click the link above or check out our Friends of Friends page.

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Mailing address: Friends of Wachusett Mountain, P.O. Box 301, Princeton, MA 01541-0301.
All logos and trademarks on this Website are property & copyright © of their respective owners. All photos and graphics used on this Website are property of Friends of Wachusett Mountain unless otherwise specified and may only be reproduced with written permission. Copyright © 2008 Friends of Wachusett Mountain.
Website Design & Maintenance: Christopher Brown