A rare amphibian that has disappeared from 70 percent of its historical range has been given a fighting chance to repopulate on state-protected lands in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California State Parks have signed a Safe Harbor Agreement, a 50-year voluntary conservation pact that calls for the reestablishment of California redlegged frog populations across four state parks in Southern California, covering more than 16,000 acres of parkland. This species is federally threatened and a state species of special concern.
“Collaborative, voluntary conservation efforts like this one are key to recovering imperiled wildlife in Southern California,” said Eric Morrissette, senior fish and wildlife biologist for the wildlife service in Ventura. “Through the Safe Harbor Program, private and nonfederal landowners, like California State Parks, can proactively support species’ recovery by restoring or managing habitat for those species on their lands, with assurances that other land uses, like visitor recreation opportunities or maintenance activities, are not restricted.”
Two weeks ago California red-legged frog eggs were collected from a site in the Simi Hills and are being transferred to Leo Carrillo and Malibu Creekstate parks. There, the eggs will metamorphose into tadpoles. The goal is to create a new population of reproducing adult frogs. Only one population remains within the Santa Monica Mountains, which imperils the continued existence of the species in the region.