PRC Plans Lawsuit to Push for Listing of Two Imperiled Amphibians

Pacific Rivers Council and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for determining not to list the Yosemite toad and the Sierra Nevada distinct population segment of the mountain yellow-legged frog under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service made this call despite the fact that the two amphibians do, in fact, meet all the criteria for listing as endangered. Instead, the agency has determined that the listings are warranted but precluded by higher priority listing actions and placed the frog and toad on the candidate list (this means that their status will be reviewed on an annual basis for possible listing sometime in the future).

The Yosemite toad is found only in the central Sierra Nevada at high elevations, typically between 8,000 and 10,000 feet, although its historic range was between about 5,000 and 12,000 feet. According to the Service, its range and population has declined dramatically in recent years, due, among other things, to the introduction of non-native fish in high elevation Sierra lakes, livestock grazing, and airborne chemical pollutants. The Sierra Nevada distinct population segment of the mountain yellow-legged frog occurs north of the Techachapi Mountains in the Sierra Nevada. The frogs range and population has also declined in recent years for reasons similar to those for the toad.

On March of 2000, the Service received petitions from PRC and the Center for Biological Diversity to list the frog and toad as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate the two species respective critical habitat. Only after we filed a lawsuit did the Service announced its determinations that listing both species may be warranted in October of 2002. Pursuant to a court order, the Service had to make determinations for the toad and frog in December 2002 and January 2003, respectively.

Determinations for both species were warranted but precludedmeaning that the Service recognizes the dire situation of these two amphibian species but will not move forward under the ESA to protect and recover their dwindling populations. The Service made these findings despite the fact that the Yosemite toad and mountain yellow-legged frog populations are in even worse straights now than when the petitions were filed nearly two years ago. In fact, experts are predicting the likely extinction of the frog and toad unless biologically-sound conservation strategies are put in place immediately.