UPDATED: Beekman Road to Close for Salamader Migration

The East Brunswick Environmental Commission just announced that Beekman Road at Church Lane will be closed tonight (Friday) for the annual salamander migration.

According to the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission website: "If you come out at night, please be aware that Church Lane is very dark and cars move at fast speeds. Use extreme caution when parking or crossing the road and especially be watchful of your children. NEVER WALK BEEKMAN ROAD AT NIGHT IF THE ROAD IS NOT CLOSED - IT IS NOT SAFE!!! If you come to the road, EVERYONE should have a flashlight. It will help see things in the dark, make the night much more fun and prevent accidentally stepping on a salamander or spring peeper."

Members of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and it’s Friends group have spent much of the day debating whether or not to close the road in anticipation of the annual salamander migration. However, the weather did not make their lives easy.

“We are still very much on the fence about the potential for any migration tonight,” read a blog posted to the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission’s web site at 2:05 p.m. Friday. “The weather forecast continues to change with each subsequent model run and between weather forecast outlets too. The latest NOAA model from 12:53 today has continued a pattern of downgrading the temperatures and the potential for rain as the afternoon goes on, but they have kept 40+ degree temperatures and potential showers in the forecast through early evening. This makes for a really difficult call about what to do tonight. We will likely make a last minute call on this one later this afternoon. And, there still have been no choruses of spring peepers....”

Environmental Commission member David Moskowitz said Friday afternoon that they had not yet decided whether or not to close off the road.

Every year, the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and the Friends of East Brunswick Environmental Commission, working with the police department, closes Beekman Road, off Church Lane, for a few weeks in the spring so that hundreds of spotted salamanders can cross from nesting grounds to nearby vernal pools to breed. After spending a few weeks there, the adults return to their home across the street. The mild winter has meant that the migration season could be earlier than expected.

For more updates, check eastbrunswck.patch.com and visit the Friends' website, www.friendsebec.com.