Category

Houston Toad

Endemic to Texas, the Houston toad was the first amphibian listed as endangered by the U.S. government, and has seen its range shrink from 13 counties in the 1940s to 3 in 2000. With the Bastrop Complex wildfire of 2011 damaging some 40% of its critical habitat, efforts to captive-breed, release and protect remaining Houston toads under a Safe Harbor program have been stepped up.

Interviews

Narrator: Jim BlackburnTitle: BufoDuration: 00:04:54Date: October 10, 2023The Houston toad was the first amphibian to be declared endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and by 1977, had already been eradicated from critical habitat designated in southwest Houston, where extensive wetlands had been filled and drained. However, Jim Blackburn, a noted environmental lawyer, points out that the toad does still survive in more rural areas, and is gaining from the Houston Zoo's captive breeding and release, and might also benefit from biodiversity credits for private landowners.Narrator: Paul CrumpTitle: Canaries in the Coal MineDuration: 00:04:55Date: December 6, 2019Dr. Paul Crump, herpetologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, describes the conservation challenges facing many amphibians such as the endangered Houston toad. Increasingly, he sees amphibians suffering from some of the same enigmatic declines that other animals are encountering, losses that are tied back to overarching problems of habitat degradation, climate change, invasive species and other factors.Narrator: Paul CrumpTitle: Alive in the WildDuration: 00:01:25Date: December 6, 2019Dr. Paul Crump is the state herpetologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, and previously worked as the amphibian conservation manager for the Houston Zoo. Here he discusses the Zoo's captive breeding of the endangered Houston toad, seeking to protect the toads in their vulnerable early stages, and to give them a head start at survival in the wild.Narrator: Mike ForstnerTitle: PondsDuration: 00:01:40Date: August 28, 2024Mike Forstner, a biology professor at Texas State University, has spent over three decades studying the rare Houston toad. The toad faces many challenges, but one is an odd repercussion of rural landowners' penchant for building ponds. The proliferation of lakes disperses the toads, reducing the chance that there will be a "quorum" of male chorusing toads large enough to attract female Houston toads interested in mating and carrying on the species.Narrator: Joseph M. Heiser, Jr.Title: Whatever BelongsDuration: 00:01:56Date: August 14, 1984Mr. Heiser was the Houston-based co-founder of the Nature Conservancy, the Outdoor Nature Club of Houston, and the Little Thicket Nature Sanctuary. Here he speaks about the vital importance of saving Houston toads, as well as all natural resources, large and small - whatever belongs on the land. We are grateful to Thomas Kreneck, with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, for making, preserving, and sharing this recording.