Supreme Court asked to hear endangered frog case (dusky gopher frogs) – via Herp Digest

JANET McCONNAUGHEY, Associated Press 7/12/17 

NEW ORLEANS - A Libertarian organization is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a declaration that Louisiana timberland is critical habitat for an endangered frog found only in Mississippi.

The nonprofit Pacific Legal Foundation wants the high court to overturn lower court rulings that have upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency says a network of ponds so shallow they dry up in the summer makes the 1,500-acre tract the only potential breeding ground outside Mississippi for dusky gopher frogs.

The declaration is an “unprecedented abuse of the Endangered Species Act,” since the frogs haven’t lived in Louisiana since 1965, foundation attorney Reed Hopper, who represents landowner Markle Interests LLC, said in a news release.

“Regulators are seeking to impose control over privately owned property in the name of a phantom frog — a frog that is nowhere to be found on the property or, indeed, anywhere in the state. Moreover, the property is not suitable for frog habitat,” and the owners will not make it suitable, Hopper said.

Designating land as critical habitat requires consultation with the agency before federal permits or contracts are issued but doesn’t give the government any power to make landowners do anything to protect the frog.

“I wish the landowners would stop their wasteful and pointless challenges to the frog’s protections and instead cooperate with habitat restoration and frog reintroduction,” Collette Adkins, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity , said in an email.

No appeals court has ever ruled that the federal agency violated the Constitution when implementing the Endangered Species Act, she wrote.

The critical habitat declaration was upheld in district court and 2-1 in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which voted 8-6 against having the full court re-hear the case.

The 31/2-inch-long frogs cover their eyes with their forefeet when picked up, and have bumps on their backs which secrete a bitter fluid.

They once lived in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Now an estimated 135 live in the wild and about 550 are in zoos, according to the most recent recovery plan for the frogs.

The frogs live underground, in stump holes and burrows dug by other animals, emerging mainly to breed and lay their eggs in “ephemeral ponds.” Because they dry up in summer, those ponds don’t hold fish that might otherwise eat the eggs.

U.S. Forest Service balances prescribed burns with protecting endangered Dusky Gopher frog - via Herp Digest

Jan 30, 2015 6:54 AM EST, By Danielle Thomas

HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) -

Firefighters are trying to prevent catastrophic wildfires without causing harm to a frog now on the brink of extinction. The U.S. Forest Service conducted a prescribed burn in Harrison County off of East Wortham Road, which is the habitat of the last few remaining Dusky Gopher Frogs in the world.

Tadpoles are kept in tanks until they are mature enough to be released to live in a nearby pond. Researchers said they're fighting to keep the last of the Dusty Gopher Frogs from becoming extinct.

"The Dusky Gopher, there is only 100 to 200 left in the world. This pond right here is the last productive population left, and mostly they've become endangered because of destruction of their habitat," said John Tupy, a researcher for West Carolina University.

U.S. Forest Service officials said they do prescribed burns each year to help protect natural habitats. However, when burning in this 450 acre area, the firefighters avoided the areas immediately adjacent to the pond as an extra precaution.

"We want to make sure when we burn we're not doing any damage to the frog," said Ben Battle, Desoto District Ranger. "Obviously, we want to make sure that we're doing the best job for the habitat and for the frog. We try to make sure that we don't get too close, because we don't want to do anything that is going to set the population back. So, we're talking with wildlife biologist to make sure that we're burning under the best conditions."

The rangers also avoided getting their heavy equipment too close to the pond where the Dusky Gopher Frogs breed. Researchers said since only 10 percent of the frogs live long enough to reach an age where they start to reproduce, protecting the pond and not hurting their chances of survival is vital.

"Well, it's extremely important," said Tupy. "It's the last productive population, so if we want to do any type of conservation or expansion with the population, it all comes from here. The health of this pond and the uplands around it are vital for keeping the species alive."

Firefighters said the burn of 450 acres is smaller than many prescribed burns. Since the area borders Highway 49 on one side and Highway 67 on the other, they didn't want heavy smoke to create dangerous conditions for drivers.

"The ideal situation is we want to get the smoke up and out, so we want to make sure that we're looking at the wind heights. The lifting heights of the smoke," said Battle.