Dryopteris intermedia (Common Wood Fern) is more associated with coarse woody debris (CWD) than the surrounding forest floor. Along with microsite-based establishment benefits, dispersal vectors may facilitate this distribution. Some salamanders are associated with CWD and may serve as dispersal agents for spores of the Common Wood Fern. In a deciduous forest of south-central New York State, we assessed the ability of Plethodon cinereus (Red-backed Salamander) and Notophthalmus viridescens (Eastern Newt) to pick up and transport spores and sori fragments from the dorsal side of the frond, and rinsed salamanders to collect and germinate any viable spores from their bodies. We also measured the moisture content of soft CWD, soil beneath hard CWD, and background soil. Both salamander species picked up reproductive components of Common Wood Fern. Wild-caught salamanders of both species had viable spores on their bodies. Soft CWD held more moisture than soil beneath hard CWD and the forest-floor soil. Dispersal by salamanders and the provision of humid habitat by soft CWD may help to explain the abundance of Common Wood Fern near CWD.