Continue and expand upon long-term monitoring and management of endangered, threatened, and special status ranid species in california department of fish and wildlifes (cdfw) north central region (NCR)

This Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615) provides $400,000.00 to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to continue and expand long-term monitoring and management of endangered, threatened, and special status ranid (frog) species in CDFW's North Central Region. The key objectives are to obtain current data on the distribution and relative abundance of foothill and montane ranids, and undertake direct management actions such as translocations and captive-rearing to augment threatened populations or reestablish recently extirpated populations of threatened and endangered native ranids. This 3-year award runs from June 1, 2025 through May 31, 2028 and builds upon CDFW's established High Mountain Lakes project monitoring amphibian and fish populations in the Sierra Nevada since 2000.

The cdfw high mountain lakes (HML) project has been monitoring amphibian and fish populations in the sierra nevada since 2000. Historically, due to declining abundance and contracting distributions, listing status, and mandated connections to recreational fish stocking, amphibian management in the NCR has focused primarily on monitoring and conservation actions for sierra nevada yellow-legged frogs (rana sierrae). However, the NCR also contains several other anurans of conservation concern, some of which are state and or federally listed. These include foothill yellow-legged frogs (rana boylii), cascades frogs (r. Cascadae), and california red-legged frogs (r. Draytonii). Although these species have received some past management attention from cdfw, the NCR has not maintained a dedicated focus on these species, due in part to lack of committed funding and staffing needs. The purpose of this project is to obtain current data on the distribution and relative abundance of foothill and montane ranids in the northern sierra nevada. Additionally, this project will undertake several direct management actions, including translocations and captive-rearing, to augment threatened populations, or reestablish recently extirpated populations of threatened and endangered native ranids.