to more suitable habitat after clearcuts, nor if they would be capable of surviving in these new locales. Long-term studies are beneficial for separating the effects of normal population fluctuations from the effects of timbering. Reference site levels of P. hubrichti varied from 0.19 to 0.35 surface-active salamanders/m2 during the course of the study, with a complete oscillation over an 11-year period around a mean of 0.28/m2. Had the study been shorter, the population would have appeared to decline overall instead of varying. With this variation at reference sites as a comparison, clearcuts evidently have a significant negative impact on Peaks of Otter salamander populations, with no signs of complete recovery even 12 years after timbering. While shelterwood cuts do not leave the population completely unscathed, they are not harmful in the long term, and if applied judiciously they may be used in allopatric areas where populations of P. hubrichti are otherwise stable. The most significant timbering question concerns the sympatric zone with P. hubrichti and P. cinereus. Kniowski and Reichenbach hypothesize that timbering, especially clearcuts, would cause an increase in temperature and decrease in moisture on the forest floor, and this, in turn, might favor the more widespread P. cinereus'', as this species may be more resistant to increased temperatures and evaporation rates. References Plethodon Amphibians of the United States Endemic fauna of Virginia Amphibians described in 1957 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot