Along the trails, visitors may encounter such creatures as frogs, toads, turtles, lizards, and salamanders. Trail walkers may even see a few snakes during the warm months. The Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization (CRESO) has put together lists of the reptiles and amphibians that they have inventoried on the Arboretum property.

The CRESO project is an educational/research association between the Department of Energy, Anderson County Schools, and Oak Ridge Schools. The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center facilitates the project by providing an environment for scientific data collection and study.

A main goal of CRESO is to actively engage high school and undergraduate college students in meaningful long-term ecological field studies that focus on the flora and fauna of East Tennessee and specifically the Ridge and Valley ecoregion.

CRESO students conduct detailed inventory and long-term monitoring projects to gather information on the physical characteristics and population trends of selected species in Anderson County.

The following amphibians have been inventoried by the CRESO members:

Eastern American Toad
Fowler's Toad
Eastern Narrow Mouth Toad
Cope's Gray Treefrog
Northern Spring Peeper
Upland Chorus Frog
American Bullfrog
Northern Green Frog
Eastern Spadefoot
Northern Dusky Salamander
Seal Salamander
Southern Two-lined Salamander
Red-spotted Newt
Northern Zigzag Salamander
Northern Slimy Salamander
Northern Red Salamander

Reptiles that have been seen include, lizards:

Eastern Six-lined Racerunner
Common Five-lined Skink
Northern Fence Lizard
Little Brown Skink

And turtles:
Eastern Spiny Softshell
Eastern Snapping Turtle
Eastern Box Turtle
Pond Slider.

And snakes:

Eastern Wormsnake
Northern Copperhead
Northern Black Racer
Northern Ring-necked Snake
Cornsnake
Black Ratsnake
Mole Kingsnake
Eastern Black Kingsnake
Common Watersnake
Northen Rough Greensnake
Northen Brownsnake
Northern Red-bellied Snake
Eastern Gartersnake
Eastern Smooth Earthsnake.

To view photos of these amphibians and reptiles, visit the CRESO web site at www.cresosnake.com. To learn more about these creatures, visit the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Watchable Wildlife web site.