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Park Service Plans To Eradicate Trout In Sequoia To Save Frogs

In an effort to bump up the number of endangered yellow-legged frogs in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon area the National Park Service has approved a planto remove nonnative fish from lakes and streams. FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports.

 

Nonnative trout were introduced into the Sierra Nevada in the late 1800’s. Danny Boiano is an aquatic biologist in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park.

 

“They’re eating the small animals, so the tadpoles and the small frogs, which basically eliminates successful breeding at these sites," Boiano says.

 

Starting next summer the park service plans to eradicate the fish by using physical methods like gill-netting or electrofishing. Also by using a substance deemed safe by the state called a piscicide that when dissolved in a body of water will kill the fish. It will also kill other creatures, but Boiano says studies show that area will bounce back in a couple years.

 

“The piscicide effects animals that have gills," Boiano says. "It’s really designed to target the trout species, but it will also affect tadpoles and many different species of aquatic invertebrates.”

 

Boiano says it’ll take at least 30 years to rid 85 bodies of water and 31 streams of the fish. As the waterways are freed up of fish they will relocate the endangered tadpoles and frogs to them.

Ezra David Romero is an award-winning radio reporter and producer. His stories have run on Morning Edition, Morning Edition Saturday, Morning Edition Sunday, All Things Considered, Here & Now, The Salt, Latino USA, KQED, KALW, Harvest Public Radio, etc.
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