As part of a larger Department of the Interior evaluation of amphibian declines on Federal lands, the Fish and Wildlife Service is undertaking a survey for deformities in frogs on NWRs nationwide. Region 1 is participating in this national survey to determine if a problem exists on refuges in Region 1, and subsequently will develop a plan of action to address concerns if they exist. Where possible our efforts will be coordinated with similar efforts by sister Bureaus in the Department of the Interior. The objective of the proposed survey is to determine the prevalences of malformations in frogs collected from National Wildlife Refuges. Additionally, frogs collected from habitats categorized as having contaminant inputs will be compared with habitats without contaminant inputs. We will survey the prevalence of malformations in frogs collected from approximately six NWRs in habitats representing both "suspected impacted" (habitats with documented application of pesticides on refuge lands, runoff from adjacent lands, releases from landfills or hazardous waste sites) and those without such inputs.
