The Oregon Spotted Frog may already be extinct in California. (ODFW)
BEND, OR — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that it will extend protection to the Oregon spotted frog as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The species will be protected from southwestern British Columbia through the Puget/Willamette Valley, and in the Cascades Range from south-central Washington to the Klamath Basin in Oregon.
Oregon spotted frogs may already be extinct in California and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
“This unique and highly aquatic frog was once common in the Pacific Northwest and its decline signals degradation in the health of natural areas that provide for people as well as fish and wildlife,” said Tom McDowell, the Service’s Washington Fish and Wildlife Office Acting Supervisor.
The Oregon spotted frog has disappeared from up to 90 percent of its range due to loss and degradation of wetlands.
The final rule designating critical habitat for the Oregon spotted frog is expected this fall.
To read the Federal Register notice, or for more information about management activities and conservation of Oregon spotted frog, click here.
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