Chiricahua Leopard Frog Conservation at Buenos Aires NWR

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This proposed work is a continuation of the maintenance removal of non-native American Bullfrogs from BANWR and monitoring of Chiricahua Leopard Frog populations on and near the refuge conducted under Challenge Cost Share funding in 2008-2009, with the new objective to remove all bullfrog populations near enough to immigrate onto the refuge. Work will continue to prevent immigrating non-native American Bullfrogs from becoming re-established on BANWR by removing them manually, and monitor extant, re-established and newly self-established populations of the federally threatened Chiricahua Leopard Frog on the refuge and adjacent areas. Project will involve patrolling the refuge and adjoining ranches to establish the success of bullfrog removals, and to ensure that no new bullfrog threats have developed. In 2009 the Santa Margarita Ranch granted permission to eliminate all bullfrogs from the ranch, the last remaining source populations of bullfrogs in Altar Valley. The monitoring indicates that all bullfrogs from all but two stock tanks on the ranch were removed by the end of the frog activity season last fall, but it is imperative to continue this effort through 2010 to remove any remnant frogs before they can breed or migrate, and to verify success of total elimination. When completed, the removal effort that will have eliminated bullfrog source ponds from the west flank of BANWR. While removing the bullfrogs in 2009 we were able to conduct a baseline survey for Chiricahua Leopard Frogs on the ranch, and we are assisting SMR in pursuing a Safe Harbor Agreement for this leopard frog with the Arizona Game and Fish Department. We are proposing also to attack bullfrog populations in the Pajarito Mountains (adjoining BANWR on its east boundary) to eliminate the bullfrog threat (albeit a less immediate threat for the refuge) from that direction as well. This will protect in situ populations of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs in Coronado National Forest, which are understood as part of the BANWR-region metapopulation, thus assuring recovery of this species in Recovery Unit 1 per the Chiricahua Leopard Frog Recovery Plan.

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