Desperately seeking endangered frogs

Mary Rider
Contributor

A tale of loss, followed by hope, disappointment and eventually renewed effort was published by the Town Crier in 2018. The article, written by JP Crumrine, described attempts to save an endangered local species in the San Jacinto Mountains range. An update to the story is available this Saturday in Idyllwild.

The Mountain yellow-legged frog (MYLF) was widely distributed across the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, San Jacinto and Palomar mountains until non-native predators, recreation impacts, climate change and disease contributed to its status as an endangered species in 2002. It was estimated fewer than 100 adult frogs were left in the wild.

In the summer of 2013, captive-bred MYLF tadpoles and juveniles were released in three locations on the Hill. A small but viable frog population existed until the 2013 Mountain Fire and heavy rains caused damage to vegetation and creek habitat. Devastation to the MYLF frogs’ natural environment necessitated re-directing rehabilitation efforts to the San Gabriel Mountains for the next five years. The 2018 Town Crier article indicated a new batch of captive-bred MYLF tadpoles and juveniles would be released in 2019, into a site at Willow Creek beyond Saddle Junction in the San Jacinto Mountains.

In summer 2021, a team of scientists, including representatives from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA), again reintroduced groups of endangered MYLF (about 400 juveniles) to remote areas of the San Jacinto Mountain range after breeding the 1-year-old frogs. Recovery Ecology scientists hope the frogs had a successful completion of overwintering in their mountain habitat and survive for the next few years to reproduce and establish a self-sustaining population.

Local naturalists have an opportunity to hear the back story and recent updates regarding MYLF rehabilitation efforts. The Friends of San Jacinto Mountain Parks invited Dr. Talisin Hammond, SDZWA researcher and field biologist, to provide an hourlong MYLF presentation from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the Idyllwild Nature Center. She has a great interest in educating the public on wildlife recovery efforts and looks forward to sharing her knowledge and experience in sustaining an endangered local species. Innovations in breeding, introducing captive-bred MLYF tadpoles and juveniles into the wild, and tracking their survival are topics she will share.

Collaboration between the SDZWA and other zoos, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey and academic institutions have illuminated future conservation and management of endangered species in the world. The story of an endangered frog in the San Jacinto Mountain range is a small chapter in the field of Recovery Ecology. It illustrates SDZWA’s slogan: Adaptively managing and restoring species to the wild.

Re-introducing captive-bred MYLF to their native habitat is a tale of persistence, with moments of despair, guided by determination and hope. The scientific discoveries and techniques learned in the process have provided valuable tools for preserving other endangered species. For that reason, it is a tale of hope for the future.