Species Spotlight – Western Toad

Species Spotlight: Western Toad (Anaxyrus boreas)

This month, we cast the Species Spotlight on the Western Toad!

Photo and Article by Stewardship Manager Jake Pool

Stewarding the land is not only about protecting and improving the land, but also observation. During recent summer work in the Nisqually Land Trust properties in Ashford, WA, known as Mt. Rainier Gateway, larger adult Western toads were found in culverts. If there are adults, there must be a breeding location nearby.  

A closer look at the maps led us to some ponds nearby that seemed like ideal habitat. These ponds are in the Nisqually Community Forest lands, a separate subsidiary non-profit of the Nisqually Land Trust. At first, walking up to the pond surrounded by subalpine meadow flowers and grasses yielded nothing in toads, but lots of pollinators enjoying the flowers. Once we got closer to the moist soil on the edge of ponds, the ground looked like it was moving amongst the foliage. We knelt down along an animal trail, and you could see hundreds of toadlets moving and hopping along the ground. All the ponds in the area had thousands of toadlets that had recently metamorphosed from their aquatic habitat.

Part of our stewardship on these lands is to bring the forest and meadows back to their natural functioning state. Most of the area had been planted densely in single conifer species of trees. Little diversity and low light levels at the forest floor does not produce a quality and diverse habitat for many species of wildlife and plants, which the toads and so many other animals need to do well.  

To restore good conditions, we thin the forest, create openings, and plant a diverse community of plants back in these areas. This important work also helps to ensure better water flow and storage over time into our wetlands, streams, and rivers, and recharges our aquifers when we encourage diverse habitats that benefits not only wildlife, but plants, salmon, and the people of the Nisqually Watershed. 

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) would like to have reports of any observations of these Western Toads or other threatened or rare species. To do so, use the ‘At-Risk” wildlife observation form: WDFW Wildlife Observations (arcgis.com) 

Learn more about the Western Toad here: Western toad | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife 

Western Toad Factoids: 

• WDFW was very excited about the recent find. They confirmed this is the 5th known breeding population of Western Toads in Pierce County. 
• Individual females produce approximately 12,000 eggs per clutch on average (estimated counts range 6,000 to 20,000).  
• They spend most of their life in terrestrial habitats, such as prairies, forests, canyon grasslands and ponderosa pine-Oregon oak habitat. They only breed in waterbodies to reproduce, like wetlands, ponds, lakes, reservoir coves, and the still-water off-channel habitats of rivers, as well as river edges.