By Associated Press - Wednesday, May 7, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A conservation group is threatening to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to force action on petitions to give Endangered Species Act protection to four kinds of salamanders and a frog found in the Northwest.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice Wednesday of intent to sue, a prerequisite for actually suing the federal agency.

The notice says the service is more than a year late in deciding on petitions to protect the Cascades frog, the Oregon slender salamander and three species of torrent salamander. More than 200 scientists also called for a reviewing the amphibians’ status.

The center says the amphibians are declining because of the introduction of non-native trout, pesticides drifting from farmlands, and logging.

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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