Arizona’s leopard frogs show signs of recovery across 19 sites by 2019
Conservationists in Arizona have successfully expanded the habitat for the threatened Chiricahua leopard frog by eradicating invasive bullfrogs in the Cienega Creek watershed. The project improved water sources and created protected breeding grounds, increasing the number of recovery sites from seven to 19 by 2019.
Why it matters
The project demonstrates a successful, manageable model for invasive species control and habitat restoration that can be applied to other isolated aquatic ecosystems.
The Arizona project began with a problem that was easy to see but difficult to solve. American bullfrogs had established themselves in the Cienega Creek watershed, where they could prey on Chiricahua leopard frogs and carry the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. The response involved more than removing the invasive frogs. Managers also had to keep them from returning, improve water sources and give the threatened leopard frogs places where they could breed and move between populations. According to The Nature Conservancy blog, by 2019, the area used for Chiricahua leopard frog reintroduction had expanded from seven sites covering 42 square kilometres in 2013 to 19 sites across 84 square kilometres.How Cienega Creek conservationists tackled invasive bullfrogs and frog declineCienega Creek runs through southeastern Arizona, where mountain drainage meets semidesert grassland and riparian habitat.
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