Plan to save endangered frog hopping along

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed Wednesday as part of a lawsuit settlement to establish a recovery plan for the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog. The agreement is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the agency and the Center for Biological Diversity over protections for the frog. The Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, sued the government in February for failing to develop the recovery plan in a timely manner after the species was listed as endangered in 2002. A recovery plan identifies actions necessary to save endangered species, such as habitat restoration and reintroduction of the species into the wild. A Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman, Jane Hendron, said lack of a recovery plan has not stopped the agency from moving forward with recovery actions. Fish and Wildlife has partnered with zoos and other government agencies on improving the species’ survival, she said. For example, the San Diego Zoo's Institute for Conservation Research has been breeding the frogs in its laboratory since shortly after they were captured from a drying stream in the San Jacinto Mountains in 2006. Juvenile froglets and tadpoles have been released into a stream at the James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve near Idyllwild and a nearby stream on U.S. Forest Service land...more

 Its a good thing Smokey wasn't there.  He'd of made short work of those froglets & tadpoles.