SOLUTIONS
How you can help save frogs

No one will ever again see a golden toad flash through the cloud forest or learn how a gastric-brooding frog nurtured up to 25 offspring in her stomach. They are gone forever.

In the United States the Vegas Valley leopard frog (Rana fisheri) is probably extinct. The Tarahumara frog (Rana tarahumarae) has disappeared from Arizona but survives in Mexico.

The Fish and Wildlife Service lists three species of frogs in the United States as endangered, meaning they may become extinct in the near future:
o guajon (Eleutherodactylus cooki)
o golden coqui (Eleutherodactylus jasperi)
o California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii)

Three species of toads in the United States are also endangered:
o arroyo toad (Bufo microscaphus californicus)
o Houston toad (Bufo houstonensis)
o Wyoming toad (Bufo hemiophrys baxteri)

One toad is classified as threatened, which means it’s likely to become endangered:
o Puerto Rican crested toad (Peltophryne lemur)

Extinction is forever. Here are ways you can help save endangered and threatened frogs before it’s too late:

1. Learn about declining amphibians and other wildlife so you can enjoy the outdoors without accidentally harming animals or plants.

2. When you go hiking, take binoculars, a camera, and a notebook. Keep notes of the different plants and animals you see. Take pictures, not souvenirs.

3. Be kind to the environment by walking or riding your bike instead of driving a car.

4. When you drive, go slow when frogs in your area are breeding. Many frogs get run over at this time.

5. Use natural fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides in your yard. Chemicals can wash into streams and lakes, harming or killing frogs.

6. Don’t dump motor oil and other hazardous wastes down the drain. Remember that frogs live downstream.

7. Don’t release unwanted pet fish, turtles, or frogs in a pond. They might carry disease or prey on native species.

8. If your local school needs animal specimens for dissection, urge teachers to buy biological specimens that are introduced species instead of natives.

9. Help scientists in your area with a frog census in the United States or Canada.

10. Kids, find out from Captain Ribbit and the Frog Force how to adopt a frog pond.

11. Teachers, learn about classroom activities and resources for teaching students about amphibians.

12. Increase frog habitat by creating a backyard or schoolyard pond. Be careful, though, not to provide a home for introduced species like bullfrogs and bass.

13. If you have a pond on your property, remove any introduced predators and replace them with native amphibians. Get help from your local Game and Fish Department, university biology department, or conservation organizations like those listed below.

14. Support organizations that champion the preservation of amphibian habitats, such as the National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, and Sierra Club.