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2 yellow-legged frog species make endangered lists
USGS scientists found this adult mountain yellow-legged frog on June 10 in Tahquitz Creek, a rediscovered population of the endangered frog in the San Jacinto Wilderness, San Bernardino National Forest, California.
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2 yellow-legged frog species make endangered lists
2 yellow-legged frog species make endangered lists
Mountain yellow-legged frogs, long under threat from trout, people and disease, are getting new protections from state Fish and Game officials.
The frogs live at elevation — in streams, rivers, creeks and vernal pools. Mountain yellow-legged frog habitat can be popular with hikers and climbers, and that terrain isn’t pristine.
California Fish and Game officials have stocked mountain streams and creeks with trout for sport fishing. Those introduced fish have spread; they feed on tadpoles. Federal scientists have documented a frog-killing fungus in Southern California mountains that’s part of a worldwide problem.
All those reasons have put two species of yellow-legged frogs on the radar of Fish and Game commissioners. Now they’ve voted to declare the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog threatened, and its southern mountain variant endangered.
The listings make it illegal to harm or capture the frogs. State officials say they’re already working with federal scientists to restore habitat for the frogs, even as they’re trying to keep recreational areas open for hiking and fishing.
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