Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog Survey

There is something in the water down in Greenhorn Creek — it’s the Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog and their offspring!  

On Friday, May 31^st, the SYRCL Watershed Science team had the pleasure of accompanying the US Forest Service Wildlife crew on a search for this near-threatened species. The goal of the day was to find and, if necessary, re-locate the egg masses of the Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog. Re-location of their eggs is done in places such as Greenhorn Creek due to this area being so popular with Off Highway Vehicles (OHV). The Foothill Yellow-Legged Frogs’ egg masses can contain hundreds to thousands of eggs and, unfortunately, these soft egg masses do not hold up well against being run over by OHV tires.  

You can find the Foothill Yellow-Legged Frogs in streams in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada up to 5,000 feet in elevation.  According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “The amphibian faces several threats, including altered waterflows that are related to water infrastructure, competition with and predation by non-native species and disease. The species also faces threats from precipitation and temperature changes that are related to climate change, as well as high-severity wildfires. Water-related recreation and habitat conversion and degradation also threaten this species.” 

Typically, you’ll find their egg masses in sunny, shallow, and rocky streams with low flows. The sunny, shallow, rocky streams are also perfect crossing points for OHVs, making Greenhorn Creek an area of conflict. The eggs will be clumped together in a mucus like sack and will hatch within 18 to 21 days of being laid.  

---

---

The adult frogs often look like rocks in the stream, but if you look closely, you might find one swimming around or basking in the sun.  

So next time you’re down at Greenhorn Creek, look both ways, both ways for frogs that is!