The Southwestern Arroyo Toad

The Southwestern Arroyo Toad is a relatively small toad of about 3 inches in length and lives in southern California. Its habitat ranges from Monterey to the northern area of Baja. Its scientific name, Bufo californicus, comes from the Latin name for toad, bufonis. The coloration varies slightly from a greenish-gray to a light brown and it has a white 'v' between its eyes.

As with most toads and frogs, it requires water and moist sandy soil, so prefers to live in riparian habitat (areas surrounding rivers, creeks and streams) with adjacent willows and cottonwood trees. They burrow underground during the cold winter months and emerge again toward the end of winter and the beginning of spring when they begin their courtship for mates. When a female chooses her mate, he'll hold onto her until she lays her eggs along the banks of flowing water, then he will fertilize the eggs. It takes a couple of months for the tadpoles to grow and mature, which makes them vulnerable to predation. One of the dangers to the developing tadpoles are invasive species such as bullfrogs and catfish, as well as natural predators like birds and snakes.

The Southwestern Arroyo Toad is a federally listed endangered species since 1994. The primary cause for its status is habitat loss due to development, grazing which causes degradation to toad's water habitat and pollution. There have even been instances where off highway vehicles have been seen driving carelessly through the toad's habitat. There have been lawsuits filed by environmental groups against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that claim the agency didn't act to restrict cattle grazing on public lands.

Recently, the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated areas of critical habitat for the arroyo toad. This means that the toad is fully protected within these areas and no activity that could harm the toad is allowed. If anyone wants to do some sort of work within critical habitat, the necessary permits are required and mitigation could be called for to protect the toad's habitat. Examples of mitigation could be revegetating areas near the streams where toads are found if willows or cottonwoods are trimming or removed for a project. There is generally a ratio applied and in critical habitat, the ratio is usually quite high, such as 5 to 1, meaning 5 trees replanted for every 1 that is removed. There are also sometimes mitigation fees applied to help with costs of protecting the toad.

There is almost always a biological survey required to clear an area before even foot traffic is allowed in an area of critical habitat. The survey must be done by a qualified biologist and the permit conditions must also be strictly adhered to. These requirements are necessary and important for the survival of the arroyo toad.