DEC Releases Final Northern Cricket Frog Recovery Plan to Restore Amphibian's Population

The northern cricket frog will be protected and its populations restored in New York State if the management plan for the amphibian released by the DEC this week is implemented and it works.

The northern cricket frog is New York’s only endangered frog and is limited to a handful of breeding populations in southeastern New York.

The largest remaining population of northern cricket frogs in New York survives at Orange County's Glenmere Lake/Black Meadow habitat.

The plan includes: protecting and managing remaining northern cricket frog populations and habitats and to work with landowners to protect suitable and unoccupied habitats and facilitate the colonization of these sites by northern cricket frogs.

Recovery plans are not required for endangered species in New York State.  However, under regulations implementing the New York Endangered Species Law, a recovery plan can be prepared to provide guidance for activities to improve the status of the species and establish a strategy for securing the species and removing it from the NYS Endangered Species List.

DEC biologists will now develop specific steps to implement the recovery plan, beginning with research to quantify the upland habitat requirements of the frog.

The final Northern Cricket Frog Recovery Plan is now available on DEC’s website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7120.html.