The population of one of North America’s top four most endangered amphibians is exclusive to Albany County.
The Wyoming Toad is native to the Laramie Basin; however, since the 1970s the species has been dwindling until only one wild toad existed in 2011, Mark Sattelberg, Cheyenne Ecological Service Office supervisor, said.
Species recovery efforts have repopulated the toad to 500 in the wild, although there is still a great deal of work to be completed, Sattelberg said.
“We do need a sustaining population and be able to reproduce and survive through the winter and reproduce the next year, as well,” he said. “A lot about the toad we still don’t know, and we’re learning more every year.”
The three known primary threats to the species are the Chytrid fungus, limited distribution and habitat alteration, including water management, Sattelberg said.
“The whole valley used to be flood irrigated and so the whole river basin was very wet. Some of that water is now withdrawn and taken through canals, and so it’s much drier than it used to be,” he said.
Research on the species is taking place at the University of Wyoming, as well as the University at San Francisco, Sattelberg said. He added the toad will not be delisted as an endangered species until there are five distinct populations in the county that are self-sustaining for seven years.
Melanie Murphy, Ecosystem Science and Management assistant professor, is part of the Wyoming Toad research team at UW. Their main areas of focus are studying the primary needs at tadpole and toadlet stages and suitable habitats for the toad, she said.
“It likely needs shallow, warm water for tadpole growth and burrows for overwinter habitat,” Murphy said. “We are trying to learn more about Wyoming toad habitat needs.”
The toad was considered functionally extinct at a population of 10 in 1989, Murphy said, and efforts to resuscitate the species were not noticeable until 2012.
Tadpoles raised in captive breeding facilities were originally released directly into lakes, Sattelberg said; however, he added recent research uncovered the toads have a higher success rate in the wild later in life, as tadpoles are susceptible to predation and habitat variations. The young toads are now put into enclosures within their habitat to allow them to further develop and are then fully released into the wild at a later stage.
Two facilities in Wyoming, as well as eight zoos in North America, participate in the captive breeding program for the toad, Murphy said. Thousands of tadpoles are produced at these operations each year; however, there is a concern for the genetic durability of toads grown in a controlled environment, she said.
“There is a concern when animals are captive bred that they will become less suited to the wild environment,” Murphy said. “This is why the Fish and Wildlife Service wants to get breeding populations of Wyoming toads reestablished in their native habitat.”
In order to repopulate the toad several other factors have to be addressed, Sattelberg said. The species will have to either evolve to resist or adapt to live with the Chytrid fungus that is now prevalent in many environments, he said.
In addition, landowners may have to collaborate with the Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) in efforts to restore the species. Discussion has included purchasing private lands and asking landowners to maintain wetlands, Sattelberg said.
The obligation of caretaking an endangered species is the main concern amongst landowners, Sattelberg said, adding questions have revolved around who would be responsible if a toad died. A safe harbor would be implemented to protect private property owners from this responsibility.
“We are trying to make it as attractive to land owners as possible, by easing them of any regulations under the endangered species act, and allowing them to manage their ranch the way they want to manage it,” he said.
The thorough conservation draft plan for the Wyoming Toad is available at the FWS website, and is open to public comment until January 5.
