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, …