Efforts afoot to save the endangered cricket frog, a historic resident of New York State

The state Department of Environmental Conservation announced its plan to boost the population of the endangered northern cricket frog. That plan is now available for public review and comment, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced Wednesday. An overall goal of the recovery plan is to eventually remove the species from New York's endangered species list. The northern cricket frog is one of the state's two endangered amphibians and is limited to a small number of breeding populations in southeastern New York. "The northern cricket frog is a historic resident of New York State and represents an important amphibian component of wetland ecosystems," stated Martens. "Conservation of the northern cricket frog and its habitat is important to preserving New York's biodiversity and unique character. The plan aims to improve the frog's geographic diversity and ultimately increase its population."

The recovery plan provides a comprehensive review of the northern cricket frog and proposes a strategy for preventing the loss of this species from the state. The plan includes to: protect and manage remaining northern cricket frog populations and habitats; identify suitable and unoccupied habitats and facilitate the colonization of these sites by northern cricket frogs; research critical data gaps in the conservation biology of the northern cricket frog that will assist in an efficient recovery; and develop and support partnerships to facilitate recovery.

For more information on northern cricket frogs, visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7120.html.

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