MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Ensconced in plastic Tupperware containers full of damp moss for them to burrow in, 36 endangered dusky gopher frogs recently made their way from the Toronto Zoo, where they were born, to the Memphis Zoo, where researchers have been spearheading a program to save the little amphibians.
The rare gray and black spotted frogs, which live in burrows and mate in ponds that dry up for part of the year, will soon be released into the wild in southern Mississippi, hopping out into the world only days after the administration of President Donald Trump announced changes to how the Endangered Species Act is applied. While the move drew sharp condemnation from environmental groups, it underscores the importance of the work being done to save endangered species, conservationists said, including in Memphis.
Dusky gopher frog populations have been decimated by development, with 98% of the forests they once inhabited removed, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Sometimes known as the Mississippi gopher frog, they have been listed as an endangered species since 2001. At that time, only about 100 frogs were known to exist in the wild, all of them breeding in one pond in Harrison County, Mississippi.
The restoration project led by the Memphis Zoo to increase their wild population released 622 frogs into the wild last month, 47 more on Wednesday and will soon release the frogs from the Toronto Zoo, all of which zoo officials hope will go on to make little tadpoles of their own. Matt Thompson, chief zoological officer at the Memphis Zoo, described it as “putting a founding stock back into the wild.”
“What this release represents is us literally repopulating the wild with this species,” he said. “And that’s such a fantastic thing.”
However, some conservationists are worried recent changes to the Endangered Species Act, credited with saving the bald eagle, grizzly bear and humpback whale from extinction, could affect vulnerable animals across the country, including the dusky gopher frog. Cynthia Sarthou, executive director of the Gulf Restoration Network, said new provisions allowing the economic impact to be considered when designating protected habitats for endangered species could change how many species are able to be protected in the future.
“I don’t think we’d designate most of the species we have designated” under the new guidelines, she said. “If you don’t catch a species at a certain time and designate it so its habitat can be protected and mechanisms can be implemented to protect that species, you might lose that species.”
Sarthou said there are ways to protect animals without impeding business. Her organization became aware of the dusky gopher frog when a Mississippi scientist reached out about a developer who was looking to build on land near the one pond dusky gopher frogs were breeding in at the time.
“This is a very grumpy sort of protective frog,” she said. “And it’s very particular about where it breeds.”
The group was able to work with the developer to identify a private individual who would purchase the land around the pond from the developer, compensating them for land they would not be able to build on while creating a buffer around the pond so the frogs could breed in peace.
“To me it’s a success story for how a developer and environmental groups can work together in a way that provides permanent protection for a species,” she said.
However, not all discussions over dusky gopher frog habitat have been as amicable. Lumber company Weyerhaeuser sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - which administers the Endangered Species Act - after more than 1,500 acres of land on which it holds long-term timber leases were designated as critical habitat for the frog, limiting future land uses. Weyerhaeuser argued in part that dusky gopher frogs had not been seen on the land in half a century and trees were planted too close together to create a suitable habitat for the frogs, which are known to be picky.
The case made it all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, which addressed only two questions raised in the suit, ruling 8-0 (Justice Brett Kavanaugh had not yet taken the bench) in favor of Weyerhaeuser on those portions and kicking large chunks of the lawsuit back to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Issuing the court’s opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts described the frog as “about three inches long, with a large head, plump body and short legs.”
“Warts dot its back and dark spots cover its entire body,” he wrote. “It is noted for covering its eyes with its front legs when it feels threatened, peeking out periodically until danger passes.”
Thompson, of the Memphis Zoo, described the frog as “nondescript” but said that shouldn’t be counted against it.
“The health of an environment is so often measured by some of the smaller animals, particularly amphibians and reptiles. As they do in an environment is kind of a picture of the overall health of an environment,” he said. “Even little small brown frogs are just as important as the colorful ones. They have a purpose in the ecosystem they came out of.”
Toronto Zoo spokesperson Amanda Chambers said the zoo saw conservation efforts as “a team sport, and we all share responsibility for recovering species at risk.”
Thompson said the Memphis Zoo’s work to save endangered species like the dusky gopher frog did feel especially important in light of changes to the Endangered Species Act but said protecting vulnerable species had always been a core mission of the zoo’s research arm.
“We’re just trying to save animals,” he said. “We saw an opportunity where something was literally going extinct, and we were able to step in and help.”
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com
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