Support from donors has enabled biologists to work toward restoring populations of native frogs and turtles in Yosemite. In the high country, the endangered Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog is making gains after a precipitous population decline; in the Valley, successful efforts have brought the western pond turtle and California red-legged frog back after decades of absence.

In 2018, with your help, scientists continued to bolster the park’s amphibian and reptile populations, by working with the San Francisco Zoo to rear young turtles and red-legged frogs, using new insights to identify ideal release sites in the Valley, and carefully moving yellow-legged frogs to additional high-altitude lakes. Ultimately, these efforts will help all three species continue to regain their footholds in the Sierra Nevada ecosystem.

Your gift funded efforts to protect native wildlife and restore ecosystem balance in Yosemite.

Completed in partnership with Yosemite National Park; San Francisco Zoological Society; University of California, Santa Barbara – Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Lab; and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Sacramento Field Office

Rob Grasso

Aquatic Ecologist, Yosemite National Park

Project Notes

In one year, we went from inception of an idea to full implementation, collecting over 500 red-legged frog eggs, raising them at a zoo, and releasing them in Yosemite. We are making history.