Training

See also: Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog, Habitat Restoration

Workshop Description

Sarah Kupferberg, Ph.D., Steve Bobzien, and Marcia Grefsrud will present this workshop on the biology and conservation of the Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs (FYLF) at the Sunol Ohlone Regional Wilderness of the East Bay Regional Park District. Dr. Kupferberg has published a wide variety of papers on the ecology and life history of FYLF, and developed previous workshop presentations on the species for the Wildlife Society and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation Lecture Series. Marcia Grefsrud, a 23-year veteran of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, has been conserving habitat and overseeing permits in Alameda County since 2005, and collaborating with Steve and Sarah on stream surveys and chytrid outbreak monitoring in Alameda Creek since 2012. Steve Bobzien is a wildlife ecologist and has been with East Bay Regional Park District for over 25 years. He is the principle research investigator on aquatic breeding amphibians and the primary author of a comprehensive study on the status of the California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog, foothill yellow-legged frog and other aquatic herpetofauna in the East Bay Regional Park District. 

The classroom portion of this workshop includes digital presentations by Dr. Kupferberg on the identification, life history, population biology, conservation, diseases and parasites of FYLF. Mr. Bobzien will discuss the long term monitoring conducted in Alameda Creek. Ms. Grefsrud will discuss management and regulatory considerations related to the recent listing of FYLF under the California Endangered Species Act. Presentations will be interspersed with discussion and small group exercises focused on tadpole identification.

The field portion of the workshop will include hands-on training on habitat assessment and survey techniques as well as in situ discussion about management . Specifically we will focus on stream channel morphology and the physical conditions preferred by FYLF as well as assessing the invasive species that are predators and competitors of FYLF. FYLF are present in Alameda and we anticipate that participants will be able to observe FYLF behavior and handle the species with supervision. However, we cannot guarantee handling or in-stream wading due to the stochastic nature of planet Earth’s biota as well as potential for failure of human systems beyond our control. Participants will need rubber boots or waders (hip or chest waders with no holes) to wade or walk along the stream margins.

The workshop fee includes classroom sessions and field time on June 3, 8:00-6:30, in Alameda Creek, at the Sunol Ohlone Regional Wilderness, 6 miles southeast of Calaveras Road exit on Hwy 680. Fee also includes coffee, lunch, refreshments, and handouts. 

Workshop Objectives

To increase participant understanding of

• the biology of Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog;
• the latest research on the species;
• habitat management for the species, and;
• how to apply information in conservation planning efforts

Improve these participant skills

• species identification;
• aquatic habitat sampling techniques, and;
• stream site assessment

Topics Addressed

• Rana boylii life history and natural history, breeding, rearing and adult habitat requirement
• Basic genetics and evolutionary history of Rana boylii
• Instruction on how to identify all stages of Rana boylii
• Recommended sampling methods and seasons for detecting different life history stages - specifically detailing CDFG sampling guidance
• Permitting requirements for work with Rana boylii
• Interactions of Rana boylii with other species
  • ​Tadpoles: Role of periphyton food, predators, and temperature in determining recruitment success
  • Juveniles and adults: Invertebrate prey and and vertebrate predators
  • Fish vs. frog management conflicts
• Demography and population dynamics of Rana boylii
• Risk Factors associated with Rana boylii decline​
  • ​Flow management (Dams' and diversions' effects on discharge timing and magnitude, temperature, channel shape, etc.)
  • Invasive species (bullfrogs, crayfish, non-native predatory fish)
  • Chytrid fungus and other diseases /parasites
• Habitat restoration and reintroduction efforts
• Frog friendly in-stream flow management and discussion  of minimization measures that limit impacts of in-stream construction projects

Field Training Practicum

Participants will receive skills-based training in species identification, visual encounter survey, time-constrained, and area-constrained survey techniques. Sarah, Steve, and Marcia will lead participants on walks through stream reaches with varying densities of Foothill Yellow-legged Frogs to compare habitat attributes and risk factors affecting the frogs. A hands-on skill building exercise for site assessment relevant to conserving the species will be done.

***Important information***

It is important to note that no component of this workshop should be construed to apply to attendees’ ability to obtain permits related to the FYLF; if you are interested in how workshop activities might be used for permitting, you are encouraged to contact your agency permitting representative.

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Registration details

Please note - you can pre-register via this website, but your registration will not be finalized until we receive your registration fee of $. Payment can be either in the form of a credit card or a check made payable to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation and sent to:

Elkhorn Slough Foundation

ATTN: Coastal Training Program

1700 Elkhorn Road

Watsonville, CA 95076

Deadline for payment is 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, 2020.  If we have not received your payment at that time, your place may be forfeit to someone on our waiting list. 

We will refund cancellations prior to May 6 minus a $50 processing fee; we cannot refund any fees after that date. We reserve the right to cancel the workshop prior to May 8, 2020; in that event, we will give full refunds.

We ask you not to cancel after the registration deadline; if you sign up, please show up so as to not waste valuable resources. Repeated failure to adhere to these policies may jeopardize a person’s future ability to enroll in our programs.

We do not allow third party registration- register only yourself!  Registration is email sensitive; registering others frequently results in cancellation, missed communication, and other issues.

Because large, wealthy organizations have in the past reserved large blocks of seats, excluding others from attending, only to cancel those reservations, we do not allow registration 'trading,' even to persons within the same organization.