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Budgetary Constraints Preclude Service From Listing Yosemite Toad
SACRAMENTO, Calif--The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded that the Yosemite toad, an amphibian native to the high country of California's Sierra Nevada range, may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, budgetary constraints preclude the Service from listing the toad as threatened or endangered at this time.
The Service will add the Yosemite toad to its list of candidate species and review the toad's status in a year.
To comply with a court order,
the Service completed a year-long review – known as a 12-month finding
– and determined that there is sufficient scientific and commercial data
to list the species throughout its range.
"The Service is so backed up with other court-ordered actions, including
requirements that we respond to petitions, listings and critical-habitat designations,
that we don't have the staff or resources to complete the listing," said
Steve Thompson, Manager of the Service's California/Nevada Operations Office.
In April 2000, the Service was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Rivers Council to list the Yosemite toad as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The petitioners also requested that critical habitat be designated concurrent with listing. In October 2000, the Service completed a 90-day finding and concluded that the petition presented substantial scientific or commercial information to support listing. Today's action completing a 12-month review is being published in the Federal Register, per a court-ordered publication date.
The Yosemite toad is a high-elevation species found in the central Sierra Nevada mountains. The current range of the Yosemite toad extends from Ebbetts Pass in Alpine County to south of Kaiser Pass and Evolution Lake, Fresno County. The Yosemite toad commonly occurs at elevations between 8,000 and 10,000 feet.
In making this finding, the Service recognizes that there may have been declines in the distribution and abundance of Yosemite toads. The best available evidence indicates that some toad populations have declined by at least 50 percent from historical levels. These declines are primarily attributed to habitat degradation, airborne contaminants and drought. Declines in Yosemite toad populations have occurred in Yosemite National Park, the heart of the species' range, and throughout the Sierra Nevada.
More than 90 percent of Yosemite toad habitat occurs within U.S. Forest Service wilderness areas and on National Park Service lands. The Forest Service has proposed several standards and guidelines to protect and enhance the Yosemite toad and its habitat. One of these guidelines is to develop and implement a conservation strategy for the Yosemite toad with the Service. The Forest Service believes it can take measures to improve Yosemite toad habitat through better management of livestock grazing and fish stocking on lands that it manages.
Amphibians worldwide appear to be declining, and several of California's native amphibians besides the Yosemite toad are already listed. The California red-legged frog, southern California population of mountain yellow-legged frog, and the arroyo toad are Federally protected. And two populations of tiger salamanders, in Santa Barbara County and more recently in Sonoma County, required emergency listing. Scientists consider amphibians as good "indicators" of significant environmental changes that may go initially undetected by humans.
The Yosemite toad is a member of the Boreas-canorus group, the most primitive of three evolutionary lines of the North American Bufo family of toads. More information about the toad and today's action can be found at the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office's Home Page at http://www.fws.gov/sacramento.
Should the Service in the future
propose to list the Yosemite toad as either threatened or endangered, the
public would then have an opportunity to comment on the proposal before any
final decision is made.
The Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for
conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages
the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 540
national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special
management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery
resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces
Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory
bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program
that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing
and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
Facts
About the 12-Month Finding on a
Petition to List the Yosemite Toad
The Yosemite toad (Bufo canorus) is
a member of the Boreas-canorus group, the most primitive of three evolutionary
lines of the North American Bufo family of toads. The Yosemite toad is a close
relative of three toad species: the western toad, black toad and Amargosa toad.
The species was discovered by a University of California survey in the early
1900s. It was originally called the Yosemite Park toad, but its name was changed
after populations were discovered outside park boundaries.
At 1 3/4- to 2 3/4-inches long, the Yosemite toad is considered a moderate-sized toad. Females are larger than males and their bodies are marked by a mottled pattern of black spots edged in white against a pale gray, tan or brown background. The paratoid glands (two puffy-looking pockets of skin behind the eyes, which contain venom to ward off predators) are tan-colored. Some females may have a dark, pencil-thin stripe on their backs. In contrast, the skin coloration of the male Yosemite toad is primarily a pale yellow-green or dark olive. Some males may have pronounced dark blotches while others may have small scattered flecks. Some may not have these "spots" at all. The throats of both sexes are pale colored. The skin is exceptionally smooth, more similar to that of a frog than the warty skin characteristic of most toads. Females begin breeding at 4-6 years of age and males at 3-5 years. The lifespan of females average 15 years, while males typically reach the age of 12 years.
A high-elevation species, the Yosemite toad lives in the central Sierra Nevada mountains. Its current range extends from Ebbetts Pass in Alpine County to south of Kaiser Pass and Evolution Lake in Fresno County. Its historic range includes Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Mono and Tuolumne counties. Yosemite toads commonly occur at elevations between 8,000 and 10,000 feet with an overall elevation range of 6,400 to 11,300 feet. Their preferred habitats are wet mountain meadows and lake shores, nestled among lodgepole pines.
Their lives unfold in mountainous areas covered by snow 7-8 months of the year. From October until late spring they typically hibernate under the snow in rodent burrows or crevices in rocks or bushes. After the snow melts, they emerge to bask in the sun in order to raise their body temperatures and rev up their metabolism, before making their way to breeding ponds, usually little more than 300 feet from their winter home. During breeding season, they move into aquatic habitats such as pools, boggy meadows and slow-moving streams, where they seek cover amidst thick grasses or willows. They share habitat with mountain yellow-legged frogs and Pacific treefrogs, especially during breeding season.
In order to survive the long winters, Yosemite toads feed often to build up their fat reserves. Their diet consists primarily of ants, beetles, millipedes, flies, spiders and an occasional bee or wasp.
More than 90 percent of Yosemite toad habitat occurs within the U.S. Forest Service wilderness areas and on National Park Service lands. The Forest Service has proposed several standards and guidelines to protect and enhance the Yosemite toad and its habitat. One of these guidelines is to develop and implement a conservation strategy for the Yosemite toad with the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Forest Service believes it can take measures to improve Yosemite toad habitat through better management of livestock grazing and fish stocking on Forest Service-managed lands.
Declines in Yosemite toad populations have been documented in Yosemite National Park, the heart of its range, as well as throughout the rest of its range. Scientific studies cite fish stocking, livestock grazing and disease as negatively affecting the toad and its habitat. What may be more troubling for the future of the Yosemite toad is the effect of those factors combined and in concert with additional stressors like contaminants, ultraviolet radiation, climate change and drought.
The State of California considers the Yosemite toad a species of special concern. California Sport Fishing Regulations include the Yosemite toad as a protected species, one that may not be taken or possessed at any time except under special permit from the California Department of Fish and Game.
Questions
and Answers About the 12-Month Finding
on a Petition to List the Yosemite Toad
Q. What is a 12-month finding on a petition to list?
A. Section 4 of the
Endangered Species Act requires that the Fish and Wildlife Service make a
finding on whether a petition to list, delist or reclassify a species contains
substantial information to indicate that the requested action may be warranted.
The initial finding is to be made within 90 days, to the maximum extent practicable,
after receipt of the petition and is to be published in the Federal Register.
Within one year, the Service must make a further finding that the listing
either is or is not warranted. A positive one-year finding can be incorporated
into a proposed listing or, if a proposed listing is precluded by other listing
activities, the proposal may be deferred.
Findings are based on information contained in the petition, supporting information
submitted with the petition, and other information available to the Service
at the time.
Q. What is meant by substantial information?
A. When the Service evaluates a petition for substantiality, it considers the adequacy and reliability of the information supporting the action advocated by the petition. A "substantial" finding indicates the Service has determined that adequate and reliable information has been presented or is available that would lead a reasonable person to believe the petitioned action may be warranted.
Q. What kinds of information are considered reliable?
A. Among the most
reliable and credible sources are papers published in peer-reviewed
scientific literature. Information provided by individuals with demonstrated
expertise in the relevant subject area is also generally considered reliable.
Anecdotal information or information from sources without established records
of subject matter experience and expertise must be strongly corroborated to
be considered substantial.
Q. What happens now?
A. When a "warranted
but precluded" finding is made for a species, the Service classifies
it as a candidate for listing. The Service must document that it is making
progress in listing, reclassifying or delisting species, and that the Service's
decisions follow its listing priority system. The Service annually reviews
warranted but precluded species for possible listing action.
Should the Service in the future propose the Yosemite frog for listing as
either threatened or endangered, the public would then have an opportunity
to comment on the proposal before any final decision is made.
Contact
us: Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Room W-2605,
Sacramento, California 95825
Phone (916) 414-6600 ~ FAX (916) 414-6713 ~ email: fw1sacweb@fws.gov
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a part of the United States Government
Department of Interior
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