Town closes road for salamander crossing

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J., March 17 (UPI) -- Just like San Juan Capistrano, Calif., has its swallows and Hinckley Township, Ohio, has its buzzards, East Brunswick, N.J., has its salamanders.

Each spring, the salamanders make a pilgrimage out of the woods in search of mates and for the past 11 years the good folks of East Brunswick and neighboring South Brunswick have been doing their part to help make the magic happen by closing Beekman Road to help ensure the 3-inch amphibians' safety on their way to required wetlands. The annual migration by hundreds of salamanders began last Tuesday, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported Sunday.

"It was an amazing night, so many salamanders and so many people," David Moskowitz, president of the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, told the newspaper. "Reports from the road suggest there were hundreds crossing through the night and there must have been well over 100 people there" to watch.

Billy Horowitz, 11, of East Brunswick, who showed up with his dad to check it, proclaimed the salamanders "cool."