WINTER 2014 Volume 36, Number 4 Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge’s Prospects are Looking Good By Diane Kodama The smell of neoprene and old rubber fills the nostrils as we stamp and maneuver our way into chest waders. Armed with dip- nets, six surveyors make their way down to Prospect Pond, carefully navigating around the new plant life flourishing on the banks. I remain above with pencil in hand, ready to record the data that will answer the question that has been on everyone’s minds. “If you build it…will they really come?” This survey is the culmination of a goal that was set over 15 years ago to design and create breeding habitat for the federally-en- dangered Santa Cruz long-toed salamander on Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge. * * * * * The Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) was first discovered in 1954 in Valencia Lagoon and Ellicott Pond in 1956. Described as a black salamander with distinct orange pat- Survey using dip net at Prospect Pond Photo: Shawn Milar/USFWS terning on the back and tail, it was recog- nized as a new long-toed subspecies. Due to federally-endangered Robust Spineflower its lifecycle. its limited range and habitat threatened by and the federally-threatened California tiger Adult salamanders spend the hot development, the Santa Cruz long-toed was salamander and California red-legged frog. summer months protected underground included alongside the iconic Bald Eagle on The number of breeding sites has also in small mammal burrows and along tree the first Endangered Species List in 1967. expanded, from the original two to over 20, root systems, throughout oak woodland The California Department of Fish found throughout Santa Cruz and northern and chaparral uplands. As the winter storms and Wildlife purchased Ellicott Pond in Monterey Counties. The discovery of these slowly fill the ephemeral (temporary) 1973, and in 1975 the US Fish and Wildlife sites has improved the outlook for the Santa ponds with water, the adults emerge from Service (USFWS) acquired the surround- Cruz long-toed, but biologists and manag- their shelters to migrate to the ponds. The ing uplands, establishing the Ellicott ers still have much work ahead of them to Santa Cruz long-toed can travel up to a Slough National Wildlife Refuge. Since ensure the continuation and protection of mile, during night-time rains, to reach its its establishment, the refuge has grown to this unique salamander. The Santa Cruz destination. This is no small feat for a critter more than 315 acres and currently protects long-toed depends upon the conservation of three additional sensitive species: the not just one, but two habitats to complete continued next page advance their invasion of the uplands if of the exciting prospect that salamanders from page 1 left unchecked. Roads pose a deadly hazard and the California red-legged frog could with an average total length comparable to a during migration and create barriers, isolat- move into this new habitat. This was an ballpoint pen. ing salamander populations. New threats, innovative concept at the time as very little Upon reaching the pond, the sala- such as climate change and its effects on the was known about how to construct an manders slip into the water to court, breed ephemeral pond cycle have been identified ephemeral pond. A delicate balance has to and lay eggs on the submerged vegetation. and are being studied by researchers. Faced be achieved between the wet and dry cycles By March, the adults have returned to the with these challenges, refuge personnel, for if the pond dries out too soon, larvae uplands, leaving the eggs to hatch and the volunteers and partners have met them would fail to make it to metamorphosis. larvae to forage for food and to grow. As head on and have been actively working to Conversely, if the pond becomes permanent, summer progress and the ponds begin to improve and restore existing habitats. it risks the potential for bullfrog coloniza- draw down, the larvae undergo a transfor- Upland habitat restoration was tion. mation. Legs sprout, the feathery external initiated on the refuge in the 1990s with The question was asked, “Would gills shrink and disappear, and the head and the removal of eucalyptus. To date, with salamanders find and ultimately breed in a body become defined. By late summer, the the help of partners such as the California constructed pond”? larvae have metamorphosed into juvenile Conservation Corps and Cal Fire, over 30 Ground was broken in 1997. The soil salamanders, ready to breathe air and walk acres of eucalyptus have been removed by excavated to create the pond was molded on land with the characteristic elongated chainsaw and herbicide treatments. Using into levees, and a large culvert was installed toes. young plants grown by the San Francisco as a water control structure. A pipeline was The salamanders remain close by, wait- Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex’s entrenched between the pond and a nearby ing in the cracks of the dried out pond and native plant nursery from seeds and berries freshwater well to convey water as needed. in the surrounding willow and blackberry collected on the refuge, volunteers re-plant With construction completed, a half-acre thickets for the first rains of the year. The the cleared areas with natives. These acres pond stood ready to receive the rain. damp ground is a signal to the salamander are restored to stands of young coast live After the first several years passed, it to make its inaugural migration out into oaks and to hillsides covered with dark green became apparent that Prospect Pond would not hold water through late summer. Well water continued to be pumped, but the pond only retained enough water for tree frogs. Strides were made in the right direc- tion, but it was time to take a step back and conduct more research on ephemeral ponds. Eventually, the willows surrounding the pond crept in and coyote brush followed, as Prospect Pond sat dormant until a new plan could be developed. It was not until 2005 that funding was found for the redesign. Much had been learned during the intervening years about the construction of ponds for amphibians. A company was hired to assess the hydrol- ogy of the area and base the new design on the findings. Design plans in hand, refuge personnel continued to pursue project funds. The opportunity came in 2011 with funding approved by the USFWS Pacific Prospect Pond Photo: Christopher Caris/USFWS Southwest Office. Six years had passed since the design was drawn up and the refuge, the surrounding uplands. Should one of coffeeberry bushes and delicate orange buds along with the Ventura Fish and Wildlife these essential habitats disappear or become of the sticky monkey-flower. Office responsible for the range-wide recov- degraded at a breeding site, the location’s With upland restoration well underway ery of the Santa Cruz long-toed salamander, population would cease to exist. by the mid-1990s, refuge personnel began realized that new expertise was essential Numerous threats to the salamander strategizing ephemeral pond management. to guarantee pond success. Also raising and its habitats continue to be hurdles that Recognizing that a second breeding pond the stakes was the fact that Prospect Pond must be overcome. At many locations, the was needed on the refuge to support the could potentially become a breeding pond uplands and ephemeral ponds are coastal population, and to act as a backup should for the California tiger salamander and the properties prime for development or conver- something happen to Ellicott Pond, biolo- California red-legged frog as well. sion to agricultural fields. Non-native plant gists envisioned the construction of Prospect The fresh perspective was supplied by species such as eucalyptus and pampas grass Pond. The pond was so named because the Resource Conservation District (RCD) Page 2 Junior Refuge Manager Program Now Available Maximize your time spent on the refuge and participate in our Junior Refuge Manager Program. The activity book will teach your children what California Tiger Salamander Larva Photo: Shawn Milar/USFWS a National Wildlife Refuge of Santa Cruz County. With this partner- * * * * * is and what it is like to be ship, momentum picked up speed and new As the surveyors move to space them- a refuge manager. Self- partners joined the project. The USFWS selves evenly along the shoreline, a juvenile guided activities include: Coastal Program contributed additional California red-legged frog leaps out of funds and expertise, and the RCD brought vegetation and takes cover in the water. The in engineering support from the Natural first sighting of a federally-listed species for • Puzzles Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Prospect Pond! There is the possibility that Using the 2005 designs as the starting this migrating frog might stay and make • Birdwatching point, the plans were revised by NRCS to Prospect Pond its home. include a clay liner, a rebuilt levee, a system A palpable feel of expectancy is in the • Nature Journaling to collect ground water and a reliable water air, and the surveyors advance, reaching out control structure that could completely with their dip nets to take the first sweeps in • Stewardship Project drain the pond. And with RCD provid- the pond. These sweeps yield nothing but ing project management and securing the heavy silt. On the third sweep, a pale flash required permits through their Restoration in the mud alerts a surveyor that something After completing the Permit Coordination Program, the project is in the net. The wriggling body is carefully activities, you become a was ready to break ground by September caught by hand and placed in a jar of clear Junior Refuge Manager 2012.