Legislation/Policy Article from All-Creatures.org

Dixie Valley Toads Win Final Protection

From Center for Biological Diversity
December 2022

The toads [smaller than a quarter] live in unique wetlands dotting the western edge of the Dixie Valley Playa, fed by hot springs. Sadly, these hotsprings also make prime real estate for geothermal-energy plants.

The Dixie Valley toad does not have an advertisement call, but males emit a release call when they come into contact with one another, similar to the weeping of a chick.

This species’ habitat in the Dixie Valley Playa lies within the Great Basin, which is mostly very dry. But the toad lives in unique wetlands dotting the western edge of the Dixie Valley Playa, fed by hot springs. Sadly, these hotsprings also make prime real estate for geothermal-energy plants. And a new plant may soon be built right in this toad’s habitat.

This tiny toad is already threatened by invasive species, disease, climate change, groundwater extraction and livestock grazing. An energy plant in its habitat could mean extinction.

After five years of legal action by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just finalized Endangered Species Act protection for Dixie Valley toads. These extremely rare amphibians — previously protected by an emergency order — have been under acute threat from a geothermal power plant likely to dry up the hot springs they depend on.

These black-freckled amphibians are hardly bigger than a quarter. Unfortunately their range is tiny, too — they live only in a single hot spring-fed wetland of about 700 acres.

“This is a significant victory,” said the Center’s Great Basin Director Patrick Donnelly.

“Renewable energy is essential to combating the climate emergency, but it can’t come at the cost of extinction.” 

---

Return to Legislation/Policy Articles
Read more at Wildlife Articles