Wyoming Toads    By Susan Parker   Airs Dec. 2, 2007    1:17 long

I am here at the Saratoga National Fish Hatchery and in nineteen ninety-seven, this Hatchery adopted the unique role of becoming the only hatchery involved in rearing endangered amphibians.  The Wyoming toad is found near Laramie and is considered the most endangered amphibian in North America.  The hatchery maintains a captive population for breeding and the offspring are used for re-introduction efforts.

Once these toads were abundant in the Laramie Basin, but the population drastically declined and they were listed as federally endangered in the nineteen eighties, at which time they were feared extinct.  Luckily, breeding population was discovered on a rancher’s land near Laramie, but this population was also in decline.

Experts believe that the toad’s decline was caused by many factors including pollution, habitat destruction, and disease.  Today, through the efforts of this fish hatchery, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming Game and Fish, and others, the Wyoming toad is on the road to recovery

From the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service, I’m Susan Parker, exploring the nature of Wyoming.