A toad hopping forward

I care about all wildlife.  Maybe about endangered tigers and jaguars a little more than obscure Hawaiian plants that are so rare they have never had their own common name, but I care about them all.  So I think its great news that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that an endangered toad is less threatened than it was just 20 years ago: the Arroyo toad of California and Mexico.

Arroyo toad, courtesy of LA Times.

Amphibians are among the most endangered of all life on our Earth.  Conservation successes for them are few and far between.  Yet, the toad is moving in the right direction.  As a result of land protection efforts, more of its river-side habitat in California is protected from urban development.  And in 10 of 18 river systems where the toad is found, private landowners have been adopted conservation protections that help the toad survive, including conservation easements.  Grazing is less of a risk to sensitive river habitats in National Forests because the U.S. Forest Service has put protections in place.  Also, the toad is not threatened by the invasive 'chytrid' fungus that has endangered so many other amphibians around the globe.  

It is hard to stop sometimes and appreciate the good news in life and work, but this is good news.  It's a sign that the State of California's enormous effort to conserve unique places is paying off.  Efforts to save wildlife can succeed.