Assessing frogs and toads along Hanford Reach 

•  The Department of Energy monitors these anurans on the Hanford Site because they are considered sentinel species and serve as fundamental indicators of ecological health.
• EAS staff routinely conduct surveys for anurans to help protect sensitive breeding areas from project operations.
• EAS surveyed known anuran breeding pools on the site to document population status and breeding success.
• We performed chorus counts to document species present and verify breeding was occurring at pools after they were isolated.
• This seasonal survey confirmed the continued presence of Woodhouse’s Toad, spadefoot toad, and American bullfrog on the site, consistent with previous monitoring efforts.
• A total of 96 anurans were documented. We determined that although breeding habits were influenced by river fluctuations, some successful reproduction appeared to be occurring.