Saving the frogs

A spotted frog biologists have been studying may finally be granted federal protections.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering endangered-species protections for the northern leopard frog.

Many conservation groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, petitioned federal officials to help safeguard the Western populations of the small creature. Feds recently acknowledged that the frogs are indeed threatened by a number of factors. Chief among them are climate change, habitat loss and non-native species, according to The Associated Press.

“Leopard frogs are the canary in the coal mine for our water quality across a large part of the country,” Erin Robertson, senior staff biologist for the Center for Native Ecosystems, said in a recent statement. “When these frogs are at risk of extinction, we should be alarmed about the state of our wetlands and waterways.”