SPOTTED FROGS REINTRODUCED INTO PARK CITY WETLANDS
USDA NEWS RELEASE
Ron Francis, NRCS public affairs specialist (801-524-4557)
Scott Root, UT Division of Wildlife Resources outreach manager (801-491-5656)
Mike Mills, UT Division of Wildlife Resources native aquatics biologist, michaelmills@utah.gov
Park City, August 5, 2004---Wildlife biologist, conservationists, and citizens gathered at Swaner Nature Preserve in Park City, where the first repatriation (reintroduction) of Columbia spotted frogs in the United States occurred. An estimated 300 young adult frogs were released into the protected marsh land where it is hoped they will once again establish a permanent residence. On May 3, nearly 5,000 spotted frog tadpoles were placed into protective cages where graduate students from Brigham Young University fed them spinach and monitored their growth. Aquatic biologists with the Utah Division of Wildlife will continue to work with biology researchers from BYU to monitor progress of the reintroduction effort over the next three years.
Swaner Nature Preserve was selected as the best repatriation site because of its protected, suitable habitat and the fact that spotted frogs were once found in the area. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been working with Swaner Nature Preserve for several years and has acquired a conservation easement under the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) that will protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on the Preserve. NRCS officials said the spotted frog research project fits well with the goals of the Swaner WRP project.
Fifty years ago, the Columbia spotted frog was one of the most common amphibians along the Wasatch Front in Utah (they range as far south as Nevada). Factors such as loss of habitat, filling-in of wetlands, introduction of non-native species, poor water quality and other factors associated with urban sprawl contributed to their decline. In 1989, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was petitioned to list the spotted frog. The frogs were not listed on the federal Endangered Species list but are listed as a species of concern on Utah's Sensitive Species list.
This repatriation effort is the first on-the-ground research activity ever conducted in the United States to expand the range of the Columbia spotted frog. The research is being conducted by a team of graduate students from the Zoology Department at nearby Brigham Young University
The Columbia spotted frog is closely associated with the marshy edges of ponds, lakes, slow-moving cool water streams and springs. They are differentiated from the more common chorus frog by their vocalization and coloration.
Chorus frogs are commonly heard and resemble the sound made when you repeatedly drag your thumb down the teeth of a comb. The Columbia spotted frog vocalization sounds like a "clicking" or soft "bubbling" noise. Spotted frogs have yellowish-orange coloration on their bellies. They are currently confined to isolated springs or riparian wetlands in five Utah counties. |
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