American Bullfrog Surveillance and Eradication Program
The American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) is an aggressive invasive species that is native to eastern North America. The American Bullfrog is a voracious predator and has the ability to outcompete native species, such as amphibians, and can upset the ecological balance of our native ecosystems. The Bullfrog has now been confirmed close to Creston (approximately four kilometres from the Canadian border in Idaho) and recently at Lomond Lake in Nelway. There is a direct threat to the survival of the Northern Leopard Frog and Western Painted Turtle. This project will help reduce the threat of the American Bullfrog through eradication at Lomond Lake and through a surveillance monitoring program throughout the region.
Final Report: Executive Summary
American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) pose a significant threat to the biodiversity of waterbodies in the Central and West Kootenay regions of British Columbia, and to the survival of the endangered Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens) population of the Creston Valley.
The American Bullfrog Action Team (ABAT), whose members represent a broad spectrum of government, stakeholder, and international partners, has undertaken a variety of efforts to monitor at-risk wetlands and waterbodies in the Creston valley and Pend D’Oreille, as well as to eradicate the known breeding population of Bullfrogs. As a founding member of the ABAT, the Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society (CKISS) have undertaken a program of public education and outreach in order to raise awareness of the threats that Bullfrogs pose. The ABAT has also developed a regional Early Detection and Rapid Response plan for Bullfrogs in the Kootenay region, and began implementing the draft plan in 2016.
There is currently one known breeding population of Bullfrogs at a small lake in the Pend D’Oreille. In 2016, ABAT members carried out eradication efforts from May – October, including night electrofrogging of 56 adult and juvenile Bullfrogs, and fyke net capture of 382 tadpoles.
Click the provincial database link below to read the full final report for this project.