The endangered Arroyo Toads and California’s other 15 threatened species need your help this Sunday!

Texas-based Valero Energy is pumping millions of dollars into supporting Prop 23, which if passed would suspend legislation (AB 32) that requires significant reductions in greenhouse gases that cause global warming and climate change. That would spell disaster for the Arroyo Toads: less snowfall and higher summertime temperatures cause the toads’ ponds and streams to dry up…and no water means no toads.

Please join me and other SAVE THE FROGS! supporters this Sunday (10/10/10) at noon at the Valero gas station at 335 Mission Street in Santa Cruz.

Voice your opposition to Valero’s policies and help ensure that everybody driving by knows to VOTE NO on Prop 23…and to find somewhere else to refill their tank! We will be joined by People Power, CalPirg, CREDO Action, 350.org and many others.

So walk, bike, ride a bus or carpool…and don’t forget to make a good sign:
–Say NO to Valero!
–Vote NO on Prop 23!
–SAVE THE FROGS! Boycott Valero!

See you at high noon!
SAVE THE FROGS!
Kerry

SAVE THE FROGS! supporters from George Mason University are leading a protest in defense of frog populations this Saturday, September 4th, 5pm, at the Rio Grande Café in Arlington, VA. We are depending on you to join this valiant group of frog savers in protesting Rio Grande’s sales of frogs’ legs. The future of amphibious life on planet Earth is at stake, so stand up and make your voice heard this Saturday: the frogs are depending on you!

Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants have never responded to over 1,000 letters that SAVE THE FROGS! supporters have sent them regarding their sales of frog legs. The frog legs trade is responsible for the spread of infectious diseases and harmful invasive species, and the depletion of wild frog populations. One-third of the world’s amphibian species are already on the verge of extinction and thus a wealthy corporation like Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants has no business contributing to the further extinction of frog species.

With your help this Saturday we can educate the restaurants’ patrons about frog extinctions AND make the restaurant re-assess its deplorable environmental practices. With your help, I have no doubt we can get all 16 Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants to stop selling frog legs, just like San Francisco’s Restaurant Gary Danko did in April after we made our voices heard to them. But only with your help!

PLEASE TAKE A STAND THIS SATURDAY: IT’S UP TO YOU TO SAVE THE FROGS!

WHERE:
Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande Cafe,
4301 N. Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203

WHEN:
Saturday, September 4th
5pm-8pm

WHY:
Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants sell American Bullfrogs farm-raised in China. These frogs regularly escape their rearing facilities and spread infectious diseases to native frog populations. A recent study showed that up to 62% of the American Bullfrogs entering the USA for food are infected with the chytrid fungus, responsible for the extinction of up to 100 amphibian species worldwide. The bullfrogs are also voracious predators of native frogs and other native wildlife. Learn all about the frog legs trade here.

I can’t think of many ways worse ways for a frog to die than to get munched alive by a huge American Bullfrog, and I can’t think of many more excruciatingly slow ways for a frog to die than to have millions of chytrid fungi eating away at their skin until they finally go into cardiac arrest, their species being driven to complete extinction. You’re not going to let that be the fate of the world’s remaining frog populations are you?

Uncle Julio’s arrogantly ignores that their trade practices are contributing to the worldwide extinction of amphibian species. I’m a firm believer that citizens like me and you need to stand up to corporations that willingly destroy the environment without a care. That’s what the Rio Grande Café is doing, and you can help put an end to it, this Saturday at 5pm.

WHAT ARE THE PROTESTS LIKE?
They are fun, peaceful, fulfilling and enlightening. They will be even better with you there!
http://www.savethefrogs.com/frogblog/save-the-frogs/frog-legs-protests-a-huge-success/

WHAT IS THE GOAL?
The goal is to raise awareness of the problems related to the frog legs trade, and to persuade potential customers to boycott the restaurant, so that the Uncle Julio’s Corporation (which cares about money, not the environment) feels compelled to remove frog legs from their menu.

WHAT TO BRING:
A positive attitude! Assuming you have RSVP’d, we can provide you a sign. Or you can make one for yourself (e.g. “Rio Grande: Stop Driving Frogs To Extinction!” or “SAVE THE FROGS! Boycott Rio Grande”).

CAN I BRING MY KIDS?
Sure. The protests are peaceful and fun. Plus, kids can SAVE THE FROGS at least as well as adults.

I CAN’T ATTEND…WHAT CAN I DO?
(1) Email this message to anyone you know who cares about protecting wildlife.

(2) If you in the DC area, you can post one of these flyers at your office:

http://www.savethefrogs.com/actions/frog-legs/images/Flyer-Rio-Grande.pdf

(3) Everybody should call the restaurant at 703.528.3131 and tell them you do not plan to eat at their establishment until they remove frog legs from their menu (though you would be happy to if they removed the frog legs from the menu). Then email, call or write their CEO TODD Conger and tell him the same thing:
Todd Conger, CEO
Uncle Julio’s Corporation
1101 N. Union Bower, Suite 160
Irving, Texas 75061
Email: todd.conger@unclejulios.com
Phone: 972-554-6886

PLEASE RSVP IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND THE PROTEST!

QUESTIONS:
Email speakup@savethefrogs.com

THANKS AND SAVE THE FROGS!
Kerry Kriger, Ph.D.
SAVE THE FROGS! Founder, Executive Director & Ecologist

Sign up to receive the SAVE THE FROGS! newsletter at http://savethefrogs.com/newsletters

The magnificent wetlands and wildlife wilderness of Lough Boora not only host some of the most innovative environmental sculptures in Ireland, they are also the site of Ireland’s inaugural Save The Frogs Day event.

60 Degrees by Kevin O’Dwyer and Sky Train by Mike Bulfin

Frogs, toads, newts and salamanders are one of the oldest groups of air breathing animals on our planet. They are diverse survivors that have lived through many of the past global extinction events- including the large-scale catastrophes that wiped out many of the dinosaurs! Unfortunately, something now is causing the rapid disappearance of the 5,000 known species, about one third of them are in decline or already extinct. Loss and modifications of habitats, emerging diseases, climate change is all considered among the many causes for mass amphibian declines. To save this unique and important group of creatures it will take our help!

Join artist and amphibian biologist, Brandon Ballengee, on a special event dedicated to the frogs and newts of Lough Boora Parklands. Together we will discuss current challenges facing amphibians, learn ways we can help and participate in an amphibian ecology field trip to survey local species. This event is held as part of the 2nd Annual Save The Frogs Day, the largest day of amphibian education and conservation in the planet’s history.

The talk and walk on April 30th is open to the public and we hope you will be able to attend. We will meet at Teach Lea Community Hall at 11 am.

Where: Sculpture in the Parklands
When: SAVE THE FROGS DAY, Friday April 30th at 11am

System no. 30 by Julian Wild

For further information please contact:
Kevin O’Dwyer
Sculpture in the Parklands
087 696 3779

Be sure to visit the Save The Frogs Day website

###
Inviting artists to create significant site-specific works of art during the artist in residency programme each year, the mission of Sculpture in the Parklands is to inspire artists to create artworks in response to the unique landscape and industrial heritage of the cut away bogland and to build awareness of the arts within the community through public participation and interaction. In the wetlands and wildlife wilderness of Lough Boora, inspired by the rich natural and industrial legacy of the boglands, the artists have created a series of large-scale sculptures that are now part of the Parklands permanent collection. In addition to permanent sculpture and time-based work, the project has a commitment to commissioning video artists, composers, choreographers, and performance artists to interpret and document this unique landscape, folklore and industrial history.

WHEN: Save The Frogs Day (Friday April 30th, 2010)
WHERE: TX, VA, MD, FL, IL and GA
WHO: Anyone can take part, help organize or help promote. Register your interest here.

Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande is a chain of 16 upscale Mexican food restaurants located throughout TX, VA, MD, FL, IL and GA. Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants sell farm-raised bullfrogs from China. These bullfrogs are regularly infected with the deadly chytrid fungus, and are harmful invasive species that eat native frogs, and thus Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants are engaging in ecologically destructive trade practices.

Learn all about the frog legs trade here.
Learn all about Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande restaurants here.

As Uncle Julio’s corporate headquarters has refused to reply to our emails, voice mails or our three Federal Express letters to them, Save The Frogs will be holding peaceful (but highly visible!) protests in front of their restaurants this Save The Frogs Day, and at as many future dates as it takes for them to remove frog legs from their menus. These will be the first protests against the frog legs trade in the planet’s history.

Take part in the protests, or help us promote them!

Send Uncle Julio’s CEO this pre-written letter.

Please call Uncle Julio’s CEO Todd Conger and tell him how you feel!
972-554-6886

What could be more fulfilling than a fun night partying for the frogs?

Fundraising house parties and office parties are great ways to celebrate Save The Frogs Day. They spread the word and educate people about amphibian extinctions, and are an excellent method of raising funds for Save The Frogs’ worldwide amphibian conservation efforts. Plus, fundraising parties are a fun way to catch up with friends. And they aren’t very hard to set up. Here’s how to have a successful party!

SAVE THE FROGS!

In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of amphibians and to promote the 2nd Annual Save The Frogs Day, Save The Frogs Founder & Executive Director Dr. Kerry Kriger will be lecturing on the amphibian extinction crisis throughout California this spring. Most of these events are open to the public, so please pass this message on to your friends in California. You can learn more about each event by visiting the Save The Frogs Events Page:
http://savethefrogs.com/events

March 21st: Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz Main Library

March 22nd: Watsonville, CA
Amphibian Conservation Summit
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

March 31st: Santa Cruz, CA
Ecology Action Headquarters

April 5th: Puerto Rico Radio WALO
This interview will be in Spanish (with English translations), and will be accessible live via streaming radio by clicking the “Audio en Vivo” link at the right side of the WALO Radio website.

April 7th: Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz Public Library

April 10th: San Mateo, CA
Herp World Expo

April 11th: San Mateo, CA
Herp World Expo

April 17th: Santa Cruz, CA
Earth Day Santa Cruz 2010

April 18th: San Francisco, CA
California Academy of Sciences

April 22nd (Earth Day): San Francisco, CA
California Academy of Sciences

April 24th (Earth Day Observed): San Francisco, CA
California Academy of Sciences

April 30th (Save The Frogs Day!) – Watsonville, CA
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve

We’ll be announcing more events shortly!
Event details are at: http://savethefrogs.com/events

Later this year we will offer a training course for university students to enable them to give high-quality presentations on amphibian extinctions to high school and middle school students, thus dramatically increasing our ability to reach large numbers of students.

Save The Frogs is a grassroots effort: please help us fund this class and the related materials! Thanks!

A message from Kristine Grayson:
We are pleased to announce that we will be teaching a course in Field Herpetology this summer at Mountain Lake Biological Station, VA. We hope you will share this opportunity with your students. The Field Herpetology course, along with five other excellent courses, can be viewed at: http://mlbs.org/courses.html

The Field Herp course is three weeks and runs from July 12 – 30. We will explore the ecology, behavior, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles, with a focus on amphibians of the Southeast. A large portion of the course will involve field-based exercises to learn methodology for identifying and monitoring a wide variety of species. Course goals also include examining current literature on amphibian and reptile conservation and conducting collaborative research projects.

Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to apply. Applications are accepted at http://mlbs.org/genappform/courseapp.htm on a rolling basis. Review of applications for financial aid begins on March 15th. Email krgrayson@virginia.edu to view the syllabus or for any questions about the course.

Best wishes,

Kristine Grayson, University of Virginia and
Linda Green, Georgia Institute of Technology

This is a great example of how museums, zoos and aquariums can get involved with Save The Frogs Day activities. Chicago’s Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum will be celebrating Save The Frogs Day with an array of activities to educate adults and kids about amphibians and to raise money for amphibian conservation efforts. Museum Visitors and Staff will all be encouraged to wear green to show their support for this event.

Here are some of the Museum’s planned activities:

Information/Education Table
Learn some cool frog facts, find info on the threats that frogs are facing and what you can do to help. Play a detective game to solve the case of the disappearing frogs. Take a scavenger hunt to find the frogs around the museum and gather information about those frogs.

Frog Monitoring Network
Representatives from this great local organization will be on hand to show what is involved in becoming a Frog Monitor.

Live Frog Display
See a variety of live frog and toad species from the museum’s living collections.

Academy Collections
Scientists from the Collections Department will be displaying specimens and talking about preservation techniques.

Frog Art
Karen Sako , a local artist will have a few of her students working on a frog mural, which visitors and their children will be encouraged to help paint. She will also be doing a live painting of a frog of her choice and donating one of her already finished frog pieces to a raffle to raise money for SAVE THE FROGS. (Please also see the SAVE THE FROGS Art Contest Page)

Frog Rocks (Frogs Rock!)
Paint a rock to look like a frog! ($3 charge)

Frog Hopping Game – 11am to 12.30
How far can you hop? Compare your hopping skills with different frog species.

Face Painting – 11am to 1pm
Come get your face painted to look like your favorite frog. ($3 charge)

Film Showing – 1pm
Why Frogs Call and Why We Should Listen. Followed by a discussion led by local amphibian expert, Mike Lanoo.

Frog and Toad Feeding – 1pm
Feeding time for our frogs and toads, what do they eat?

Frog Origami – 1pm to 3pm
Create your very own origami frog from recycled paper.

Extras:
• Jim Harris’s DVD ‘Midwestern Frogs and Toads’ will be showing and copies will be available for purchase in the Museum Store.
• Frog and Toad calls will be played throughout the day in the Museum lobby.
• Frog and Toad merchandise will be prominently featured at the front of the Museum Store.
• Visitors will be given a ten percent discount on all amphibian related merchandise in the Museum Store.

Thanks to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum for taking action to SAVE THE FROGS!