What species of amphibians are thriving in the Pacific Northwest? One way to find out is to locate and identify their egg masses, and March and April are the perfect months to get outside and search. In late March, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park’s conservation team and volunteers searched at a 4-acre wetland mitigation site in a behind the scenes area at Northwest Trek and successfully identified egg masses of the northwestern salamander, Pacific treefrog, northern red-legged frog, and long-toed salamander. The northwestern salamander: As you scan the water, look for an unusual shape—something transparent or translucent, often attached to vegetation. …

For the first time, biologists have documented zoo-reared northern leopard frogs surviving a winter in the wild at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Washington — despite the presence of invasive American bullfrogs that nearly wiped them out. Thanks to targeted bullfrog control, some of the northern leopard frogs released last August by the Oregon Zoo and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park are surviving, an important turning point in the recovery of this endangered species. “This is great news,” said Jen Osburn Eliot, who oversees the Oregon Zoo’s frog-rearing efforts. “We care for these frogs at the zoo until they’re …

Nearly 400 endangered northern leopard frogs raised at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park are now back in the wild at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Grant County.  For four years, Northwest Trek has received northern leopard frog egg masses in the spring from the one remaining wild population at the Potholes Reservoir, collected by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists. Keepers at Northwest Trek then raise the frogs in a controlled environment, monitoring the overall condition of their tanks, including water temperature, pH levels, good bacteria, nitrogen cycle, and oxygen levels. They also protect the frogs from …

State wildlife officials moved nearly 200 endangered northern leopard frog tadpoles raised at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville to their new home at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Washington in late May. The tadpoles will continue growing in secured rearing pens until they are mature enough to hop into the wild alongside 200 additional mature frogs later this summer. “Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is proud to work with our public and private partners on the northern leopard frog project to restore the wild population,” said Curator Marc Heinzman. “It’s incredible to watch them grow from egg masses …

Nearly 400 endangered northern leopard frogs will leap back into the wild soon, thanks to a recovery effort at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials delivered the frog eggs to the Eatonville wildlife park in April. “They’ve already grown from egg masses to tadpoles in a short time,” said Northwest Trek Zoological Curator Marc Heinzman. “At this rate, the frogs should be ready to hop back into the wild this summer.” Once abundant throughout North America, northern leopard frogs are rapidly disappearing from their native ranges in Washington, Oregon, and western Canada. The species has been …

What species of amphibians are thriving in the Pacific Northwest? One way to find out is to locate and identify their egg masses, and March and April are the perfect months to get outside and search. This search frequently occurs at a 4-acre wetland mitigation site in a behind-the-scenes area at Northwest Trek. “This is an ideal place for monitoring egg masses,“ says Northwest Trek’s Conservation Program Coordinator Rachael. “Since the wetland’s restoration, we’ve identified eggs from seven of the eight monitored species of stillwater-breeding amphibians.”   Differentiating Egg Masses You will commonly find egg masses of four species around …

Hundreds of endangered northern leopard frogs will leap back into the wild soon, thanks to a recovery effort at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials delivered the frog eggs to the Eatonville wildlife park in early May. “We’ve watched them hatch and then grow from tadpoles to froglets in a short amount of time,” said Northwest Trek Zoological Curator Marc Heinzman. “At this rate, the frogs should be ready to hop back into the wild this summer.” Once abundant throughout North America, northern leopard frogs are rapidly disappearing from their native ranges in Washington, …