The Interior Department announced the establishment of the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area in the Laramie Plains of the Wyoming Basin.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) purchased 1,078 acres known as Bath Ranch from The Conservation Fund to officially establish the Wyoming Toad Conservation Area. USFWS will manage the area to conserve the Wyoming toad, while also helping other species, including the white-tailed prairie dog, pronghorn and migratory birds.
According to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Wyoming toad became extinct in the wild in 1994 and one captive breeding population remained. That population became the foundation for the breeding program, which resulted in the release of toads and tadpoles back to Wyoming’s wetlands.
