Conservation History
Relatively common in the 1950s, the Wyoming toad experienced a sharp decline during the 1970s leading to an endangered species listing and it was believed the toad was extinct by 1980. The Wyoming toad was later rediscovered in the wild in 1987 along the shores of Mortenson Lake, which is an alpine lake situated at 7,256 feet (2,212 m) above sea level. The toad is historically found only in the Laramie Basin within 30 miles (48 km) of Laramie, Wyoming. By the early 1990s a captive breeding program was begun trying to save the endangered toad from extinction, but no known wild reproduction has occurred since 1991.
Future conservation of the Wyoming toad in the wild is heavily dependent on eradicating chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), which is probably the biggest threat to the species' survival.
Read more about this topic: Wyoming Toad
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