Feds move one Arizona species toward endangered status

The federal government moved the Arizona toad closer to endangered status this week while dimming hopes for the gray wolf, which moved a step closer to losing endangered species protection altogether. The moves were among dozens announced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which said June 30 that it was rejecting petitions to classify 10 species as endangered, but that it found evidence to move 21 others to the next step in the process. “There’s still a number of steps before the species is placed on the endangered species list,” said Steve Spangle, a Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor in Arizona. He said that when the service gets a petition to list an animal as endangered or threatened, it must first “find information that the argument is plausible” based on current scientific evidence. After a species clears the first hurdle, that are lots more in-depth biological factors that have to studied – and species may still end up not qualifying, he said. But that didn’t stop advocates from celebrating – or lamenting – the announcements. The Arizona toad was one of 53 amphibians and reptiles that the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to get protection under the Endangered Species Act, said Jenny Loda, a senior attorney with the Tucson-based center. The toad is most prevalent in Arizona, but can also be found in New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. But Loda said it is danger of being lost from “75 percent of its historic range,” because of loss of habitat and competition from another species of toad. Arizona toads “really need flowing water,” but Loda said construction, dams and reservoirs create pools of still water that are better suited to the Woodhouse toad. As a result, she said, interbreeding and competition between the two toads have cut the Arizona toad population drastically. Of the 53 animals in the center’s petition, Fish and Wildlife this week agreed to advance three: the Arizona toad, Cascade Caverns salamander, and the Rio Grande cooter, a type of turtle...more

Uh, oh.  Looks like more Toad Roads and Turtle Turnpikes.