ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT PROFILE

PROTECTION STATUS: Endangered

YEAR PLACED ON LIST: 1994

CRITICAL HABITAT: 98,366 acres in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties designated in 2011

RECOVERY PLAN: 1999

RANGE: Coastal slopes in southern California from the Salinas River Basin in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties to Arroyo San Simón in northern Baja California, Mexico; a few drainages on desert slopes of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountain ranges

THREATS: Habitat degradation due to water projects, development, and urban sprawl; invasive species predation; and small population size

POPULATION TREND: The arroyo toad has been extirpated from an estimated 65 percent of its former range. Currently, only six of the 22 extant populations south of Ventura, California, are known to contain more than a dozen adults.

 

Photo © Jason Jones