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RANCHER'S CHILDREN BECOME "JUNIOR BIOLOGISTS" IN QUEST TO SAVE TWAIN'S FROG
July 16, 2004
Two young children of a Calaveras County ranching family are playing a major role in assisting a team of amphibian scientists and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as they work to save Mark Twain's "celebrated" jumping frog. The children -- Beau, age 7, and Haylie, age 11 -- discovered a small population of California red-legged frogs on the family's ranch late last fall. Their efforts to date appear to be paying off -- small California red-legged frogs have begun to emerge from the ranch's waterholes, peacefully co-existing with the calves that also arrived this spring. This news has family members, biologists, and federal wildlife officials all jumping for joy.
"It's a wonderful story, and a great example of how we can accomplish important conservation goals while we work to maintain the economic vitality of the family's ranch," said Dr. Robert Stack, Executive Director of the Jumping Frog Research Institute (JFRI). JFRI is a Calaveras-based amphibian research and advocacy center that has spearheaded the local and state-wide effort to recover Twain's frog. Its "Dan'l Webster Project", launched this winter, seeks to enlist Sierra foothill ranchers in a voluntary program of good stewardship aimed at securing a future for the fabled frog. "This is certainly a watershed event in the history of our county. Somewhere up there Mark Twain is looking down on this whole thing and he has to be smiling," said Stack.
Federal wildlife officials were equally upbeat. "We could not have accomplished what we did on the ranch this year without the effort and observational skills of the children -- along with the full support and cooperation of their parents," said Harry McQuillen, Chief of the Recovery Program in the Sacramento office of the federal FWS. "The children were out early in the spring participating in population surveys, listening for the calls of the males, and helping to map out the areas on the family's ranch where the frogs still survive."
In mid-March, an excited Haylie literally ran out of her boots in her rush home to report to her parents that she had discovered a red-legged frog egg mass during one of her many early evening field surveys. She reported her find in an e-mail to McQuillen, and Dr Stack was quickly dispatched to the ranch to confirm her discovery. "She made the correct identification on the egg mass," said Dr Stack. "Red-legged frog egg masses look like a cluster of grapes. She and her brother Beau also documented other sites around the ranch where they had discovered the string-like egg masses of California toads, and the smaller egg masses of Pacific treefrogs. Both children are extremely intelligent and very dedicated to their new responsibilities as junior wildlife biologists."
"We're much happier to see our children outside learning about biology, rather than sitting inside watching television," said their mother Norma. However, the family's initial joy at discovering the egg mass was soon tempered by the reality that some of their newly hatched red-legged tadpoles were falling victim to hungry green sunfish. These fish are introduced predators that eat the tadpoles of all frog species, not being particularly choosy about what leg coloration such a creature might ultimately achieve. "We had a hard time watching them get eaten," said Norma. "We had concerns that maybe all of the tadpoles might get eaten up by the fish before anything could be done to help them."
But the biological team, which includes noted California amphibian scientists Dr. Mark Jennings and Dr. Marc Hayes, was quick to respond. The team proposed using a net that would capture the fish but allow the much smaller tadpoles to pass straight on through - unharmed and unaffected. On Mother's Day, the entire family worked side-by-side with Drs Jennings and Stack to accomplish this task. "By the end of the day, it was pretty difficult to find a fish in most of the areas we treated," said Dr Jennings. "Not a single tadpole was injured or damaged, in no small part because of the children's skill and resourcefulness. Now we had to depend on Mother Nature and hope for the best, which somehow seemed especially appropriate on Mother's Day."
As the weeks went by, the children continued to keep a close watch over "their" tadpoles. They also continued their surveys of the other waterholes on the ranch, occasionally finding other tadpoles that Dr Stack would later identify as Pacific treefrogs or California toads. Then one day in May, the children discovered a second location on the ranch where red-legged frog tadpoles were present.
"Finding a second location was extremely important, as now all our eggs weren't in one basket -- so to speak," quipped Dr Marc Hayes, Research Scientist in the Habitat Program of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. "This find also gave us more insight into the size of the existing frog population on the ranch."
"We were amazed at how fast the tadpoles grew, and when they sprouted hind legs we began to feel like maybe they were over the hump," said Norma. Much to the delight of Beau and Haylie, over the past few weeks the first baby frogs have started to poke their heads out from among the algae and other aquatic plants that have sheltered and sustained them. "What a wonderful experience this has been for them - and us too," said Norma. "Our children are extremely proud to be playing a part in working to make sure Mark Twain's frog does not become extinct, and my husband and I are very proud of them."
Asked to comment on their experiences in dealing with the governmental agencies that have been involved in this effort, Danny stated, "The federal FWS has been very respectful of our private property rights so far, and we have also been very pleased to receive offers of assistance from the California Dept of Fish and Game." Norma was quick to add, "All of the horror stories we were led to believe about the FWS have turned out not to be true."
"We've also been very fortunate to have Dr. Stack working on our behalf," said Danny. "He and JFRI have helped represent our views as ranchers when it really counted, like at a critical meeting early in January when he brought in an outside expert to tell representatives from about five different agencies that cattle grazing could actually be a net benefit for the frog." Danny continued, "Since then, there's been no talk of restricting my cattle operation -- only how to enhance it in ways that also help benefit the frog. This is very important to us as a family, as we want to be good stewards to our land. So far we are very pleased with how this is all working out."
The California red-legged frog is currently protected as a "Threatened" species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Most biologists and historians are in agreement that "Dan'l Webster" -- the star of Twain's 1865 short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" -- probably had red legs.
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Contact:
Dr. Robert Stack, Executive Director, Jumping Frog Research Institute: 510.769.6308
Dr. Mark Jennings, Rana Resources: 530.753.2727
Further information about the listing of the frog and other endangered species issues can be obtained from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) -- contact Al Donner, FWS: 916.414.6566
In the interest of maintaining some degree of normalcy for the children and their family, and to help minimize trespassing and disturbing the family's cattle, neither the family's last name nor the location of their ranch has been publicly disclosed. Media are requested to please respect the family's wishes for privacy.
Several photos of juvenile and/or adult California red-legged frogs are available as jpg files upon request from Dr Stack at the phone number above or by e-mail: bob@jumpingfrog.org Please specify desired resolution.
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