San Francisco Mayor Threatening to Veto Pro-Frog Legislation!

Dear SAVE THE FROGS! Supporter,

On December 6th and again on December 13th, the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco voted 6-5 in favor of legislation to save the Sharp Park Wetlands and the endangered California Red-Legged Frogs that live there! However, the Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee is threatening to veto, and he could do so anytime in the next 8 days. We need to stop him!!!

Please CALL Mayor Ed Lee's office at (415) 554-6141 right now and say:

"I am calling to ask Mayor Lee please DO NOT VETO the Sharp Park legislation just passed by the Board of Supervisors. I support the Sharp Park legislation because it is important that we protect endangered frogs and other wildlife. Wetlands are critical to the health of the planet and San Francisco should be a world leader in environmental protection. Thanks for helping SAVE THE FROGS!."

Phone calls are ten times more valuable than emails, so please call! When you are done, please fill out this 5-second form to let us know if you called, so we can track the response. Thanks!

savethefrogs.com/sharp-park

Bullfrogs: Political Victory in Santa Cruz

On Tuesday the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to initiate actions that will likely soon make Santa Cruz the nation's first county to ban the importation, sale, release and possesion of American Bullfrogs, one of the world's worst invasive species. Bullfrogs eat native wildlife and spread chytrid fungus. The Board will meet for a public hearing on the issue February 28th, and we encourage all Santa Cruz citizens to attend.

Save The Frogs' campaign to ban the importation of American Bullfrogs into California was featured in Wednesday's San Jose Mercury News and Santa Cruz Sentinel, as on Oakland's KTVU-2.

Read the San Jose Mercury News Article

Frog Art by Kalpana Satish - 15

India Leading The Way on the Race To Stop Dissections

India's University Grants Commission recently issued this recommendation to phase out frog dissections, which should go a long way to bringing a complete end to student dieections in India. Closer to home, we are happy to report that two more schools have taken us up on our offer to provide free Digital Frog 2.5 software to schools that abandon their dissection programs. Congratulations to Blum High School in Blum, TX and Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy in Dorchester, MA for moving in the right direction.

savethefrogs.com/dissections

Frog Art by Koo Ni, 17

Brand New Happy Birthday Cards

These are fantastic birthday cards for any frog lover! The cards feature a Fringed Treefrog (Litoria eucnemis) from Papua New Guinea hanging out on a leaf in the rainforest.

Order a set of cards here!

Frog Poetry from India

A Sinless Creature by Abhishek Mittal, age 11 -- Tamil Nadu, India

Man impatient to slay,
Animals impatient to evade
Time to learn about nature
And all that it has made.
But frogs thronged in massacre
Nature's creation
A sinless soul.
Give them right to live
Let them survive
Lend your voice
Make some noise.
Wake up and fight for a cause
Not to regret for loss
The issue of extinction should be dealt
Contribute and make your presence be felt.

SAVE THE FROGS! Poetry Contest Winners will be announced via email within 48 hours! Art Contest too!

Closing Thought

The Constitution of India, under Section 51A (G) states, "it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for all living creatures". Time for a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution!

Thanks for helping SAVE THE FROGS!,
Dr. Kerry Kriger
SAVE THE FROGS! Founder, Executive Director & Ecologist