Oregon Spotted Frog Recovery Program

Oregon Spotted Frog Photo by M. Butschler

Oregon Spotted Frogs Photo by M. Butschler

Oregon spotted frogs are one of the most endangered amphibian species in Canada. Early last century, there were hundreds of thousands of them, ranging from northern California up into British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. Due to habitat destruction and the introduction of non-native species, their numbers have dropped as much as 90 percent from past populations. The Oregon spotted frog is presently extirpated in California, endangered in BC and Washington and at risk in Oregon. For this reason, these frogs are now the target of a recovery program involving all levels of government, the Vancouver Aquarium, the Greater Vancouver Zoo and the Mountain View Conservation & Breeding Centre. The recovery project is one of only two such programs in North America.

How is the Aquarium involved?

In March of 2002, members of the Oregon spotted frog recovery team collected eggs from selected wild populations to be reared at the Aquarium and the Zoo. In November of the same year, the Aquarium released 140 Oregon spotted froglets into marshland on Seabird Island near Agassiz.

Are we making a difference?

In order to monitor the progress of the wild frog populations, each released frog has been marked with a tiny spot of dye on one leg. The markings will enable researchers to track the frogs and determine how many survive to reproduce. While it is not known exactly how Oregon spotted frogs fit into the local ecology, they do play an important role and that's why it’s so important to save them. Every species is part of an intricate web, and taking a species away from that web creates an imbalance that may have negative effects on other species.