| | "The northern leopard frog is a great example of the biodiversity that is around us and enriches our lives,” says Kris Kendell of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA). “Leopard frogs are very large, very charismatic, and have beautiful colours. I think it would be a pretty unfortunate day if no one in Alberta could observe one of these creatures.”
Kendell is a member of the Alberta Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Team. This multi-stakeholder team was created in 2004, when the leopard frog was confirmed as a Threatened species under Alberta’s Wildlife Act. Alberta Fish and Wildlife Division (AFWD) is the lead agency for the team, and team members include representatives from several government departments, conservation agencies and other stakeholders, including the agriculture sector. The ultimate goal of the effort is ‘to achieve well distributed, self-sustaining populations of leopard frogs throughout their historical range in Alberta.’ The team is now guiding the implementation of its first five-year Recovery Plan.
Once common in central and southern Alberta, leopard frogs suffered a dramatic decline in numbers and range in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They have not recovered since. Some of the possible causes of the decline include habitat loss, habitat alteration and disease.
“Probably the toughest aspect [of the recovery effort] is we really don’t know why the frogs are disappearing. If we knew exactly what the problem was, then it would probably be fairly easy to fix. …Without that knowledge we’re working in a bit of a vacuum. But we have decided that we can’t let that hold us up trying to do management. If we try something and it’s not working, then we’ll try something else,” says Dr. David Prescott of AFWD, who leads the team.
The first step in implementing the Recovery Plan was a province-wide leopard frog inventory in 2005. Prescott says, “[The inventory showed that] we still continue to lose frogs in many parts of Alberta. Some places that had healthy frog populations as recently as 2000 still seem to be losing frogs.”
Another important action under the plan is to reintroduce the frogs into parts of their former range. This summer, field staff are identifying water bodies with good conditions for eggs and tadpoles so eggs can be moved into these areas in 2007. As well, ACA is working on a two-year study initiated in 2004 on the genetics of leopard frogs from different parts of Alberta. Kendell explains, “Basically we want to know where we can move egg masses without polluting one leopard frog population with different genetics from another leopard frog population and to make sure the eggs we collect are genetically adapted to live in the environments we want to move them to.”
Working with agricultural producers is a vital component of the effort. Many of the remaining frogs as well as good frog habitat occur on grazing land, especially native pastures with wetlands. During the 2005 inventory and this year’s work to identify good habitat, field staff have encountered many “frog-friendly” landowners, notes Kendell. So this summer the team is starting a public awareness initiative and looking into the possibility of beginning a few pilot projects.
Kendell explains, “We primarily want to make [landowners and land managers] more aware of leopard frogs and what some of their habitat needs are and what makes them happy. And, for a few important leopard frog sites, we hope to talk with the landowners to see what the possibilities are for implementing some stewardship opportunities on their property. It’s a very cooperative process. The landowner is in charge and we work with them.”
Two key things that make leopard frogs happy are good water quality and healthy riparian vegetation. If cattle have direct access to a water body, they tend to trample the streamside vegetation and pollute the water with manure and mud. So possible stewardship projects might include such things as fencing a wetland area and/or providing off-source watering for cattle. Prescott notes, “We are really talking about projects that will improve water quality, and good water quality is good for frogs and for cows.”
Producers can also help with monitoring by letting the team know if they see leopard frogs on their land. To submit a sighting, send an email to leopard.frog@gov.ab.ca. As well, producers and other amphibian-friendly people can submit sightings of leopard frogs or any of the province’s nine other amphibian species to the Alberta Volunteer Amphibian Monitoring Program, notes Kendell, who coordinates that monitoring program.
For more information, visit www.ab-conservation.com/frog/monitoring, call 1-877-777-FROG (3764), or send an email to kris.kendell@gov.ab.ca. |
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