Frequently Asked Questions

If you are interested in working or partnering with the Michigan Herp Atlas, please contact us! The Herp Atlas works with and relies on a variety of groups to collect and compile data.

First and foremost, your data is yours. We respect that you are sharing your data for conservation purposes and we publicly display all data only down to the county level. Information entered under “Security Level”, “Latitude/Longitude”, “Other Observers”, and “Notes” is not available to the public and will be used for verification purposes only. The project administrator is the only person who can view all data. All data is backed up on a weekly basis.

A request from the interested party is sent to the project administrator. In collaboration with the Michigan DNR, requests are reviewed for scientific merit, conservation value, and need. All approved data requests will require a data share agreement in which the requesting party provides their own data to the Michigan Herp Atlas, preferably via the online data submittal system.

Yes. This creates a more accurate picture of habitat use.

Yes. Even though the animal is dead, its record is valuable in research. Please exercise common sense and do not put yourself in harm’s way to collect roadkill observations or violate any traffic laws.

The Michigan Herp Atlas Project is largely unfunded. We are always interested in partnering on grants and other projects to help finance this much-needed conservation project. For information on how to assist with funding, contact the project administrator.

MIHerpAtlas. YEAR. MIHerpAtlas – A Statewide Herpetological Atlas and Data Hub. Michigan, U.S.A. Available http://www.miherpatlas.com. (Accessed: DD-MM-YYYY). Observation Reference:

Please use “MIHerpAtlas” as the institution prefix followed by the observation number. Example, MIHerpAtlas Record 2758

Note: In digital publications, we encourage authors to directly link to MIHerpAtlas observations.

An important and great question! Amphibians and reptiles are easy to catch and several are highly sought-after in the pet trade. Poachers and collectors look for herp species data gathered by citizen scientists to exploit the resource. Because the primary goal of the Michigan Herp Atlas is to collect data to help conserve herpetofauna, data visibility is restricted for public viewing to county-level for all species (abundant and rare). This standard conservation practice is essential to maintain the trust of our contributors and be good stewards of the data.

Capturing state or federally-listed reptiles and amphibians requires a permit; it is important to know your local laws. Though preferred – especially with rare species – voucher photos are not a requirement for an observation to be included in the Herp Atlas. Those observations lacking a photo may not be weighted the same as those having a voucher. If at all possible, try to get a voucher without disturbing the individual animal. If you are unable to get a voucher, it is still an important find and should be included.

While more data can be helpful, we have adopted the Who, What, Where, and When philosophy of data. The information that matters most is Who (you as the observer), Where (the locations of the specimen), What (what species or species did you encounter), and When (date of the observation). If we have that information, everything else is additional and appreciated, but not critical. Feel free to share personal information or stories that explain the importance of your observation in the notes section. For example, one might say, “this is my first mudpuppy after ice fishing here for 23 years. I took a picture and released it!” or “Went camping with my family and the snapping turtle nested right next to our camp site. What an amazing experience for my children to see.” We genuinely enjoy hearing about your encounters and stories if you wish to share.