The Bureau of Land Management Mother Lode Field Office has constructed ponds in the Sierras to provide habitat for the threatened red-legged frog. The ponds were constructed under the direction of Tom Biebighauser, a private contractor and retired U.S. Forest Service employee who has restored over 1,800 wetlands throughout the world. The BLM constructed two ephemeral ponds 40-50 feet in diameter and two-three feet deep on a 300-acre BLM parcel that is within a mile of the privately-owned Westervelt Ecological Services Big Gun Conservation Bank, close to Michigan Bluff. The 40-acre Westervelt mitigation bank for California red-legged frog, located near Foresthill is one of only a few populations of this federally threatened frog in the Sierra Nevada, reportedly the largest population with one survey counting more than 200 frogs in its seven ponds. The building of ephemeral ponds on BLM lands within a mile of a robust California red-legged frog population will hopefully allow expansion of the population from private lands onto public lands. The distance is within the dispersal distance for frog that has been reported in the scientific literature.
The ephemeral nature of the constructed ponds will exclude bullfrogs and fish, which are predators and competitors of California red-legged frog. The rain-filled, naturally appearing, low-cost, low-maintenance ponds will benefit California red-legged frog by providing a predator-free pond that will retain water long enough for the entire life cycle of the California red-legged frog. In addition to providing predator-free breeding habitat for a threatened species, the ponds will also provide habitat for birds, bats, and other wildlife.
The BLM ponds are similar to successful ponds built in 2014 on the El Dorado National Forest near a robust California red-legged frog population located on private land. The El Dorado National Forest ponds near Georgetown were occupied by California red-legged frogs within the first year after their construction. California red-legged frog breeding was confirmed in these ponds in 2016. Hopefully, the BLM ponds constructed near Foresthill, California, will be just as successful. Now we wait and see…
The California red-legged frog is our largest western native frog. It’s range has been reduced by more than 70% due to a number of factors including:
-Over harvesting for food during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
-Subsequent introduction of bullfrogs to supply the food harvest as California red-legged frog numbers declined.
-Conversion of riparian and wetland habitats in the Central Valley to agriculture and urbanization.
Go HERE to read the original article and see the photos.
The ephemeral nature of the constructed ponds will exclude bullfrogs and fish, which are predators and competitors of California red-legged frog. The rain-filled, naturally appearing, low-cost, low-maintenance ponds will benefit California red-legged frog by providing a predator-free pond that will retain water long enough for the entire life cycle of the California red-legged frog. In addition to providing predator-free breeding habitat for a threatened species, the ponds will also provide habitat for birds, bats, and other wildlife.
The BLM ponds are similar to successful ponds built in 2014 on the El Dorado National Forest near a robust California red-legged frog population located on private land. The El Dorado National Forest ponds near Georgetown were occupied by California red-legged frogs within the first year after their construction. California red-legged frog breeding was confirmed in these ponds in 2016. Hopefully, the BLM ponds constructed near Foresthill, California, will be just as successful. Now we wait and see…
The California red-legged frog is our largest western native frog. It’s range has been reduced by more than 70% due to a number of factors including:
-Over harvesting for food during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
-Subsequent introduction of bullfrogs to supply the food harvest as California red-legged frog numbers declined.
-Conversion of riparian and wetland habitats in the Central Valley to agriculture and urbanization.
Go HERE to read the original article and see the photos.
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