I think Susan Anderegg may well be referring to Maury Island when she describes fence lizards on a south-facing slope of an island across from Point Defiance. There is a well-documented Western Fence Lizard population there. Dennis Paulson mentioned Vashon Island and I see that the Department of Fish and Wildlife has a record at the Ferry Dock on Vashon but that's the only obvious record for Vashon. There are a handful of records that have Township, Range, and Section that I'll have to look up on a map to see where they are.

Somebody mentioned Arroyo in Seattle didn't they? I'm not familiar with that neighborhood. There is a Western Fence Lizard specimen at the Burke Museum, collected in my birth year (1956), from "Arroya Canyon, Seattle". Sounds like a great place for exploration to see if the lizards are still present. What a great assignment for some herp-loving youngsters who want to do something of value for science and, possibly, conservation.

I found the record I described in an earlier post where I said I had found fence lizards near Federal Way. It was actually Normandy Beach Park, closer to Des Moines, in June, 1998. I saw 6 of them there at the time.

We've gotten a bit far afield of the original post concerning vertebrates within the Seattle city limits but it's been an interesting exchange nonetheless.

Kelly McAllister
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Olympia, Washington
Reply to: mcallisters4 at comcast.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Susan Anderegg
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 5:20 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] rough skinned newts in western washington


there is (or used to be) a large population of rough skinned newts (Taricha) at a pond on the Olympic Peninsula. During the breeding season they were thick as flies in this pond. I cannot remember the name of the pond, but it was the site of a resort in, I believe, the 20's or 30's. There was a board walk extending out into the pond, although, having been deserted many years before it was not very stable nor in good condition.

a favored habitat for Fence Lizards here in Western Washington is south facing sandy hillsides with suitable cover. There used to be a sizeable population on an island across from Pt Defiance Zoo. Can't remember the name of the island, but I sure do remember chasing fence lizards and catching a few.

Susan




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