Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series Management Plan for the Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens), Western Boreal/ Prairie Populations, in Canada Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/ Prairie Populations 2013 Recommended citation: Environment Canada. 2013. Management Plan for the Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens), Western Boreal/Prairie Populations, in Canada. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. iii + 28 pp. For copies of the management plan, or for additional information on species at risk, including COSEWIC Status Reports, residence descriptions, action plans, and other related recovery documents, please visit the Species at Risk (SAR) Public Registry (www.sararegistry.gc.ca). Cover photo: Kelly Boyle Également disponible en français sous le titre « Plan de gestion de la grenouille léopard (Lithobates pipiens), populations des Prairies et de l’ouest de la zone boréale, au Canada » © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of the Environment, 2013. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-100-20966-1 Catalogue no. En3-5/37-2013E-PDF Content (excluding the illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source. Management Plan for the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations 2013 PREFACE The federal, provincial, and territorial government signatories under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk (1996) agreed to establish complementary legislation and programs that provide for effective protection of species at risk throughout Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act (S.C. 2002, c.29) (SARA), the federal competent ministers are responsible for the preparation of management plans for listed Special Concern species and are required to report on progress within five years. The Minister of the Environment and the Minister responsible for the Parks Canada Agency are the competent ministers for the management of the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations and have prepared this management plan as per section 65 of SARA. It has been prepared in cooperation with the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Success in the conservation of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this plan and will not be achieved by Environment Canada and the Parks Canada Agency or any other jurisdiction alone. All Canadians are invited to join in supporting and implementing this plan for the benefit of the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations, and Canadian society as a whole. Implementation of this plan is subject to appropriations, priorities, and budgetary constraints of the participating jurisdictions and organizations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This management plan was prepared by Andrew Didiuk in collaboration with: Debbie Nordstrom (contractor), David Prescott and Lisa Wilkinson (Alberta Sustainable Resource Development), Kris Kendell (Alberta Conservation Association), Cindy Paszkowski (University of Alberta), Jeanette Pepper and Sue McAdam (Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment), Ken DeSmet (Manitoba Conservation), Robert Gau (Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources), Robert Sissons (Parks Canada), Bill Bristol (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), and Marie-Christine Bélair, Medea Curteanu, Paul Johanson and Mark Wayland (Environment Canada). The Northwest Territories Department of Environment and Natural Resources is acknowledged for providing shapefiles to create the species’ distribution map. Additional comments and assistance in preparing the draft were generously provided by Diane Casimir (Parks Canada), Dean Nernberg (Deparment of National Defence), Danna Schock (Keyano College) and Matthew Weiss (Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment). i Management Plan for the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations, is found across the Prairie Provinces and in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Although it was once widespread and abundant throughout the Prairie Provinces, many natural and anthropogenic factors are suspected to have led to dramatic declines in abundance and area of occupancy in the mid 1970s and 1980s. The species appears to have recovered considerably in Manitoba and continues to persist in traditional areas in Saskatchewan. Large areas of its historical range in Alberta and the Northwest Territories are unoccupied, and remaining local populations are isolated due to habitat fragmentation, such that there is limited potential for recolonization of their former range. Population size in the Northwest Territories is uncertain. Northern Leopard Frogs are medium-sized frogs that utilize three types of seasonal habitat: shallow marshes for breeding, moist uplands for summer foraging, and permanent water bodies for wintering. Since there is a limited dispersal capability for this species, these habitats must be available within close proximity to each other and there must be some connectivity between habitats. The breeding period differs within provinces and the territory, and hatching success is highly variable due to a number of factors such as failure to develop, physical displacement, low temperature, parasitism and diseases. Threats to Northern Leopard Frog Western Boreal/Prairie Populations include drainage and filling of water bodies, conversion of upland habitat, urbanization, livestock operations, alteration of water regimes, introduction or increase incidence of disease and parasites, the increased frequency in drought periods, environmental contaminants, fish stocking, mortality from road traffic, and commercial harvesting and collecting. These threats vary in extent and magnitude among jurisdictions where the species occurs. The objective of this management plan is to maintain and, where feasible, increase the distribution of the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations, by identifying and reducing or eliminating threats to the species and its habitat where possible. This will be accomplished through monitoring and assessment of local populations and habitat, habitat conservation, stewardship, information and outreach, research, and reintroduction of the species where possible and in habitats that would support it. ii Management Plan for the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ........................................................................................................................ I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................... I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................. II 1. COSEWIC* SPECIES ASSESSMENT INFORMATION ........................................... 1 2. SPECIES STATUS INFORMATION ........................................................................ 1 3. SPECIES INFORMATION ....................................................................................... 2 3.1 Species Description .......................................................................................... 2 3.2 Populations and Distribution ............................................................................. 2 3.3 Needs of the Northern Leopard Frog ................................................................ 5 4. THREATS ................................................................................................................ 7 4.1 Threat Assessment ........................................................................................... 7 4.2 Description of Threats ....................................................................................... 8 5. MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVE ................................................................................ 14 6. BROAD STRATEGIES AND CONSERVATION MEASURES ............................... 14 6.1 Actions Already Completed or Underway ....................................................... 14 6.2 Broad Strategies and Conservation Measures ................................................ 15 7. MEASURING PROGRESS .................................................................................... 17 8. REFERENCES....................................................................................................... 18 9. PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS ......................................................................... 26 APPENDIX A: NORTHERN LEOPARD FROG CONSERVATION STATUS AND POPULATION TRENDS ............................................................................................... 27 APPENDIX B. EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER SPECIES .............. 28 iii Management Plan for the Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations 2013 1. COSEWIC* SPECIES ASSESSMENT INFORMATION Date of Assessment: April 2009 Common Name (population): Northern Leopard Frog, Western Boreal/Prairie Populations Scientific Name: Lithobates pipiens COSEWIC Status: Special Concern Reason for Designation: This species remains widespread but has experienced a considerable contraction of range and the loss of populations in the past, particularly in the west. This has been accompanied by increased isolation of remaining populations, which fluctuate widely in size, with some showing signs of