U.S. officials opt against listing Amargosa toad as endangered
The Amargosa toad, which only hops around marshes and spring pools of the Oasis Valley near Beatty, won't be put on the list of endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided this week.
Efforts to protect the toad's habitat appear to be working with cooperation from parties that set aside places for it to live, said Bob Williams, the service's Nevada supervisor in announcing the 12-month finding.
"The Amargosa toad is an excellent example of how agencies, organizations and private landowners with varied interests can successfully work on longterm conservation efforts for a species," he said in a news release.
"Our finding concludes that the current range of the toad is approximately the same, and possibly larger, than its historical range as a result of conservation efforts accomplished by the various entities and individuals."
In 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility petitioned to have the Amargosa toad listed threatened or endangered for federal protection.
They argued that threats to the toad include loss of habitat from development, harm from off-road vehicles, groundwater depletion by mining and harm from non-native species such as crayfish and bullfrogs.
The Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that none of those threats, either by itself or in combination, constitutes a significant threat to the species that warrants listing.
More recently, conservationists believe a proposal for solar demonstration projects at the Nevada Test Site that would use groundwater could pose an additional threat.
The toad is found only along a 10-mile stretch of the Amargosa River in the Mojave Desert between Springdale and Beatty, 120 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Surveys of the Amargosa toad are conducted every year. Officials estimated that 8,000 Amargosa toads existed in 2001, but that number dropped about five years ago. The population now hovers at between 5,000 and 6,000, biologists estimate.
Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
