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.”