During a routine survey of a toxic-waste dump near
Santa Maria, Calif., EPA staffers stumbled upon a peculiar
surprise. Hiding in the vegetation surrounding a series of
rain-filled ponds were an estimated 300 red-legged frogs, a species
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. While the
discovery was welcome news, biologists now worry that the four
billion pounds of toxic waste stored uphill from the ponds pose a
serious threat to the frog population’s
survival.
Owned by Casmalia Resources, the
landfill on the Southern California coast took in nearly all types
of industrial waste throughout the “70s and “80s until it was
abandoned in 1989. The frogs probably moved in later, taking up
residence in ponds downstream from the landfills, according to
Steve Henry of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Ventura. “We
are still not convinced that the water quality in the area is
suitable for the frogs,” says Henry. Yet so far, the frogs seem to
be fine, though crews from the EPA have to proceed carefully while
continuing their cleanup.
The frog, listed as
threatened in 1996, has lost prime habitat to development while
facing stiff competition from the introduction of the eastern bull
frog, which eats it.
*Juniper
Davis
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Toxic cleanup turns up frogs.
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