What’s brown, and red, and spotted all over? It’s one of our most endangered native frogs and they need our help!
Oregon spotted frog (Rana pretiosa) once ranged from California to Canada, living in ponds, marshes, and slow-moving streams where they feed on insects and breed in shallow standing water. Most of their habitat has been lost through development or by the installation of dams and irrigation ditches that divert water away from their wetland habitat.
Ecostudies Institute, in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Thurston County, is working to protect and expand their existing habitat while monitoring changes to their populations. In the spring, ESI staff waded through ankle-deep water to count egg masses where Oregon spotted frogs have been breeding. Although they spend their adult life in deeper pools, females lay their eggs in less than 12 inches of water where they warm up quickly and develop into tadpoles.
Historically this type of habitat would have been common, as streams seasonally flooded neighboring prairies. Now, not only does water stay firmly inside stream banks, the tall, non-native grasses that have taken over our wet prairies shade out native plants and trap sediment that reduces open water habitat. ESI staff are working to control non-native grasses to maintain, enhance, and expand Oregon spotted frog habitat. At one wetland preserve where herbicide is not an option, we found that strategically applied continuous and rotational grazing regimes successfully created and maintained Oregon spotted frog habitat.
Think you have frogs on your property? Landowners can help Oregon spotted frog by maintaining low-stature vegetation through grazing and mowing, and allowing water to seasonally flood their fields in the winter.
