VICTORY!

The California Fish & Game Commission voted unanimously today to grant endangered status to the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs (Rana sierrae and R. muscosa), which have disappeared from over 90% of their historic range. Thanks to the 1,573 SAVE THE FROGS! supporters who sent in letters on behalf of the frogs. While endangered species status does not guarantee success in saving the species, it is a clear step in the right direction.

At one time a common sight at lakes, ponds and streams throughout the Sierra Nevadas, California’s Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog are now completely gone from over 90% of the sites they once inhabited.

The City of Santa Cruz voted unanimously today (January 24, 2012) to ban the sale, release, importation and possession of American Bullfrogs. This makes Santa Cruz the first city in the country to take such a step, and sets an important precedent for other jurisdictions to follow. The non-native frogs spread chytrid fungus and prey on native wildlife. California currently imports several million of the bullfrogs into the state each year. This is the first piece of legislation SAVE THE FROGS! has gotten passed. On February 28, 2012 the County of Santa Cruz will vote on similar legislation. We are currently petitioning the Governor Jerry Brown to make statewide bullfrog legislation.

Read these two news stories for more info on the bullfrog ban
– Public News Service article
– KION article

Governor Bev Perdue of North Carolina yesterday officially recognized the 4th Annual Save The Frogs Day (April 28, 2012) in the state of NC, and “commends its observance to all citizens.” Thanks and congratulations to 13 year old Rachel Hopkins of Raleigh, NC for making this happen!

Here is the North Carolina Government page announcing the governor’s pro-frog move.

Click the image below to download the PDF of Governor Perdue’s proclamation!

Atrazine turns male frogs into females — and it’s on our food and in our tap water: so we want it banned! These two-sided 4×6″ info cards are a great way to help spread the word about Atrazine. We are certain that the EPA will ban Atrazine…but they will not do so until we have an educated, informed public whose voice is more powerful than that of the multi-billion dollar pesticide companies. Distribute these cards and help spread the word.

Order atrazine info cards here.

Congratulations to Blum High School in Blum, TX and Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy in Dorchester, MA: both schools agreed to stop dissecting animals for a minimum of 5 years in exchange for the free Digital Frog 2.5 software.

Your school can get the free software too:
In coordination with the Animal Welfare Institute and Digital Frog International, we are offering a free Full Site License of the Digital Frog 2.5 software (valued at $884) to ANY school in the USA that agrees to abandon their animal dissection programs for a 5-year period. To receive the free software, please have the relevant member of your school’s faculty sign and send in this contract.

Please Post This Flyer In Your School!
Please post the jpeg on your website; right-click the image to download the 8.5×11″ PDF (left-clicking may work too!).

The Sharp Park Wetlands are home to the endangered California Red-Legged Frog and San Francisco garter snake, as well as numerous bird species. Unfortunately, in 1931 the City of San Francisco built a golf course on top of the wetlands. The golf course has been killing endangered frogs and costing the City’s taxpayers money ever since.

Please send this letter and urge the City of San Francisco to vote YES on legislation that would shut down the city’s frog-killing Sharp Park Golf Course and turn the Sharp Park Wetlands over to the National Park Service.

NOW JOIN US AT SAN FRANCISCO’S CITY HALL DECEMBER 5th!
The Sharp Park vote takes place at San Francisco’s City Hall (Room 250) on December 5th, 2011 immediately following a public hearing on the matter. Please arrive by 10am and be prepared to stay until 2pm. When you arrive, please fill out a comment card so that you can speak for 2-3 minutes in front of the Board (this is your right as an American!). Don’t be afraid to speak…all you need to do at a minimum is ask the Board to protect the frogs and vote yes.

This proposed legislation was prompted by the request of 1,359 SAVE THE FROGS! supporters who sent letters to the City of San Francisco asking them to save the wetlands, and 100 people who attended our Save The Frogs Day Rally at the steps of City Hall. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote December 5th, 2011 on whether to shut down the Sharp Park Golf Gourse and give management of the wetlands to the National Park Service. Victory is on the horizon, but we need you to make your voice heard…this will be a close vote!

SF Board of Supervisor Member John Avalos:

Photos by Lee Haynes:

Known to the state of California to cause cancer and/or reproductive defects, Methyl Iodide is a harmful pesticide currently approved for use on strawberries. In Santa Cruz County, these strawberry fields surround the last remaining habitat of the Santa Cruz Long-Toed Salamander, one of the world’s most endangered salamanders. Read SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger’s letter to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors asking them to ban methyl iodide.

The US Environmental Protection Agency is now seeking public comments regarding a potential ban on Atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States. The EPA’s call for comments was prompted by 10,012 petition signatures received from SAVE THE FROGS! supporters, and over 50,000 emails from supporters of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The call for comments appeared in the September 14th, 2011 Federal Register, the official journal of the Government of the United States. View the Federal Register entry here and submit your comments here. The commenting period ends November 14th, but please don’t delay. Read our press release here. (more…)

SAVE THE FROGS! has officially opened its first international branch, SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana, based in Kumasi, Ghana, West Africa. Africa is fraught with both social and environmental problems, and Ghana is an excellent location from which to initiate SAVE THE FROGS! programs that we plan to spread far and wide across the African continent. SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger and Vice President Jonathan Tourzan were in Ghana for the month of September implementing SAVE THE FROGS! programs in schools and universities, and training SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana’s Executive Director & Ecologist Gilbert Adum to lead Africa’s amphibious revolution.

We are extremely excited about SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana, which is already receiving widespread support from Ghana’s people, and which will serve as a model for future SAVE THE FROGS! branches in many countries around the world. Ghana is an extremely poor country with very few internal funding opportunities and thus SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana relies on your support — wherever you are in the world — in order to get this much needed project off the ground. Twenty dollars goes a long way in Ghana, so we can assure you that your donation (which can be placed through STF! America) will help save many frogs!

SAVE THE FROGS! Founder Dr. Kerry Kriger speaks to 7th graders in Kpetoe, Volta Region, eastern Ghana:

Meet Gilbert Adum, Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana: