"A raccoon's long-toed footprint adorned the muddy lakeshore. A killdeer screeched overhead and a fluffy-tailed coyote loped through nearby grasslands. Yet the animal that wildlife biologist Wendy Hanophy sought on a hot October day remained elusive. The northern leopard frogs she was searching for were likely bedded down in wetlands surrounding the Aurora Reservoir to protect their moist skin from the midday heat."
"Indeed, several weeks before Hanophy's fruitless search, herpetologists hired by a residents' group found three northern leopard frogs uphill from where she stood close to the proposed 35-acre oil and gas site. The discovery came after state officials listed "Oil & Gas Exploration & Extraction" as a threat to the species in a 2025 wildlife action plan. The document categorized the amphibian as requiring " conservation interventions most urgently.""
Wendy Hanophy and Aurora residents search wetlands around Aurora Reservoir for northern leopard frogs, an indicator species vulnerable to habitat disturbances. The frogs shelter in wetlands to keep skin moist during heat and disperse up to three miles after breeding to forage. Herpetologists located three northern leopard frogs uphill from a proposed 35-acre oil and gas pad on a former bombing range less than a mile from the reservoir. State officials listed oil and gas exploration and extraction as a threat in a 2025 wildlife action plan and categorized the species as needing urgent conservation interventions. Dwindling numbers prompted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service attention.
Read at High Country News
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