Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination of Threatened Status for the California Red-Legged Frog

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) determines threatened status for the California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). The Service originally proposed to list the California red- legged frog as endangered, but information obtained during the comment period suggests that this taxon is found in more localities within its current range than previously identified. The California red-legged frog is now found primarily in wetlands and streams in coastal drainages of central California. It has been extirpated from 70 percent of its former range. The California red-legged frog is threatened within its remaining range by a wide variety of human impacts, including urban encroachment, construction of reservoirs and water diversions, introduction of exotic predators and competitors, livestock grazing, and habitat fragmentation. This rule implements the Federal protection and recovery provisions afforded by the Act for this species.