The state department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) recently announced its intention to release hundreds of northern leopard frogs at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Grant County this August.
WSU researchers will also fit a couple dozen of the frogs with small radio transmitters to help track the frogs’ movements and monitor their survival.
The species has been listed as endangered in Washington since 1999, and with only one known wild population remaining in the wild in the state, there is still a long path to recovery for the frogs.
Likely causes of the frogs’ decline in the Pacific Northwest include habitat loss and degradation, disease, non-native species, and climate change.
“The Washington state population of northern leopard frogs has a unique genetic variation relative to the rest of the species range, and they are part of the natural diversity of amphibians of the region,” said Erica Crespi, WSU associate professor of biology. “We are working to keep them here!”