Center for
Biological Diversity
July 6, 2018
Once prevalent in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, dusky gopher frogs are nearly extinct. More than 98 percent of longleaf pine forests — upon which the frog and many other rare animals depend — have been destroyed. Fire suppression, drought, pesticides, urban sprawl, highway construction and the decline of gopher tortoises have made this frog so rare it now lives in only a few small Mississippi ponds, with only one pond showing consistent frog reproduction.
Image of Dusky Gopher Frog, courtesy USFWS
From economists and scientists to religious leaders and business owners,
dozens of groups this week submitted “friend of the court” briefs asking the
U.S. Supreme Court to maintain protections for 1,600 acres of “critical
habitat” designated in Louisiana for endangered dusky gopher frogs.
“It’s inspiring to see so many people eloquently urge our nation’s highest
court to protect endangered wildlife,” said Collette Adkins, a Center
attorney fighting in the Supreme Court for the frog’s protections. “While
these folks represent a wide range of interests, they’re united in
supporting these little frogs, their habitat protections and the Endangered
Species Act. Like most Americans, these scientists, businesspeople and faith
leaders recognize that imperiled animals need a place to live.”
The U.S. Supreme Court in January granted a “petition for certiorari,” filed
by the timber company Weyerhaeuser, to reconsider a June 2016 decision from
a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a 2012
rule establishing the frog’s protections.
That rule protects 6,477 acres of critical habitat in Mississippi and
Louisiana, including 1,600 privately owned acres of unoccupied frog habitat
in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. The panel held that the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service reasonably concluded that the St. Tammany Parish land is
essential for recovery of the frogs, which are now confined to just three
sites in southern Mississippi — with only one site regularly showing frog
reproduction.
The “friend of the court” briefs, also known as “amicus briefs,” filed this
week ask the Supreme Court to affirm the panel decision. [To
read ALL of the court filings go to the Center for Biological Diversity
website HERE.] Volunteer lawyers and law students wrote the briefs, in a
coast-to-coast effort to represent scientists, legal experts and others with
economic, scientific, moral and aesthetic interests affected by this case:
The Center for Biological Diversity organized the amicus effort and, along
with the Gulf Restoration Network, intervened in the case. Participating as
parties in the litigation before the Supreme Court, the Center and GRN last
week filed their brief in support of the frog’s habitat protections.
Background
The dusky gopher frog (Rana sevosa) is a warty, dark-colored frog with
ridges on the sides of its back. When picked up, these frogs cover their
eyes with their forefeet, possibly to protect their faces until predators
taste their bitter skin secretions and release them. Gopher frogs spend most
of their lives underground in burrows created by gopher tortoises — hence
their name.
Once prevalent in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, dusky gopher frogs are
nearly extinct. More than 98 percent of longleaf pine forests — upon which
the frog and many other rare animals depend — have been destroyed. Fire
suppression, drought, pesticides, urban sprawl, highway construction and the
decline of gopher tortoises have made this frog so rare it now lives in only
a few small Mississippi ponds, with only one pond showing consistent frog
reproduction.
In response to a Center lawsuit, the Fish and Wildlife Service listed the
gopher frog as a federally endangered species in 2001. The lawsuit and
advocacy by the Center also prompted the 2012 critical habitat designation
at issue in the Supreme Court case. Additionally, in response to legal
advocacy by the Center and Gulf Restoration Network, the agency released a
final recovery plan for the frogs in 2015.
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