California Red-Legged Frog Multi-Cache

This cache is dedicated to the California Red-Legged Frog, the frog made famous by Mark Twain in his short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.”

Although the red-legged frog is not an endangered species, it is listed by the United States Federal Government as threatened as it has lost 70% of its historical habitat and its population has declined more than 90% in the last century-and-a-half.

Some animals become threatened more or less deliberately due to poaching (think rhinos), deliberate overhunting (think American Bison), etc. Other animals become threatened more indirectly and not deliberately, usually due to habitat destruction, undesirable farm runoff, etc., while others become threatened by a combination of deliberate and indirect methods. The red-legged frog falls into the latter category.

Initially red-legged frog populations were decimated as it was a staple cuisine. Then since its population’s initial decline rendering it no longer viable as food, its habitat has become urbanized, compromised by introduced invasive species (both plant and predator) and other inadvertent human behaviors, including people who would otherwise want to preserve these animals not realizing they are negatively impacting their habitat by something as simple as hiking in the wrong place.

The red-legged frog lives in marshes, streams, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow-moving stream channels with plant cover. Taylor Mountain Regional Park has one such pond (off limits to hikers for, hopefully, obvious reasons), a nearby (seasonal) marsh and slow moving streams, all of which support the red-legged frog.

The red-legged frog, the largest native frog in the western United States is moderate sized (4.4 -14 cm), listed as a California "Species of Special Concern" and is protected by law.

Having one of the few shrinking number of remaining habitats, one of the stated goals in the Taylor Mountain Regional Park master plan is to help repair and restore riparian habitats used by (amongst other species) the red-legged frog.

Breeding from late November to April in deep, slow-moving waters with dense or emergent vegetation, there is a healthy population in and near Taylor Mountain’s natural pond.

1. Protect existing breeding, foraging, migrating habitat
2. Protect individual frogs during park development
3. Prevent the establishment of non-native predators (introduced American bullfrogs are considered one of the leading causes of red-legged frog decline)
4. Protect the population from pathogens, parasites and contaminants
5. Establish baseline population data, evaluate existing impacts, and monitor long-term trends for red-legged frog on the property

Hopefully this cache will help give the geocacher an appreciation for the “Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” and an understanding of why certain areas in various parks are marked off limits for park visitors. Although the signage in the park may not make the reason clear, off limits areas are generally off limits for very good reasons.

For more information on the red-legged frog visit the Center for Biodiversity.

The final for this cache is located in an area of the park that has spectacular sweeping views of Santa Rosa and Sebastapol to the west, Windsor’s Shiloh Ranch Reginal Park to the north, and to the east Annadel State Park, Mount Hood Regional Park and Mount St. Helena.

If you see a Red-Legged Frog while your hiking Taylor Mountain please keep your distance. If you can do it without disturbing it, take a photo of it and post it here on the cache page for all to enjoy!