Dear Tweeters,

The only place where I have ever seen a northwestern salamander is right here at home--in my root cellar, to be precise. That's in Skagit County, near Lyman.

There was one in there today, swimming around in the inch or so of water that has collected down there. I have seen them in the cellar ever since moving to this house in 2002, with maybe two or three observations a year.

What is their normal habitat? Whenver I catch one down there, I pick it up and put it out in a damp pasture or under a cedar where it's shady and wet. It's a good two to three hundred yards from here to any even semi-permanent standing water. Would they wander to my cellar from a freshwater marsh or slough habitat? I picture the beastie tumbling down the wet and mossy steps into the cellar, ending up trapped down there--not that there aren't ample invertebrates for it to feed.

Is this species doing okay in Washington?

Yours truly,


Gary Bletsch?

Near Lyman, Washington (Skagit County), USA?garybletsch at yahoo.com?

Mentre che li occhi per la fronda verde
ficcava ?o s? come far suole
chi dietro a li uccellin sua vita perde, lo pi? che padre mi dicea: ?Figliuole,
vienne oramai, ch? ?l tempo che n?? imposto
pi? utilmente compartir si vuole?.??