Training

See also: California Red Legged Frog, Habitat Restoration

**Note: this workshop is open only for employees of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, a core partner of Elkhorn Slough Coastal Training

Workshop Objectives:             

This is a great opportunity for CDFW staff to receive training in species identification, field sampling techniques, and the habitat requirements of the California red-legged frog (CRF). Workshop information will be useful for evaluating CRF habitats, assessing potential impacts from projects within the range of CRF, conservation planning, and for educational outreach to agricultural producers and others who are considering projects that may impact CRLF. The instructors will cover only minor regulatory and permitting information in this workshop.

Workshop Details:

Workshop registration includes a classroom session and afternoon field component on May 3.  Registration also includes attendance at a night time field training sessions on the evening of May 3.  Night training is conducted from 8:00 pm until midnight at a site near the indoor venue, on Contra Costa Water District land. 

Personal vehicles are required for traveling to the site, and we require signature of a liability waiver, which we will provide after registration.  During the evening field training, instructors will train participants on decontamination techniques, detecting frog eye shine, and capturing, handling, sexing, and measuring tadpoles and/or adult frogs.  Please review the “Read Me CRF -  Field Preparation” and “Criteria for the Selection and Use of Light Sources and Binoculars forVisual Encounter Surveys of Adult and Sub-Adult California Red-legged Frogs (Rana draytonii”) documents on the Coastal Training program website for important information regarding the field sessions and the required and suggested equipment.  This is especially important as suitable binoculars and SPECIFIC FLASHLIGHTS ARE HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THE TRAINING, and it MAY TAKE TIME to locate one.

Workshop Format:

May 3 Classroom Session (8:00am-2:00pm) - An overview of the ecology of the California red-legged frog, including biology and management of the species. Meet at the Robert Livermore Community Center.

May 3 Afternoon Session (2:00pm-6:00pm) - Field trip to Contra Costa Water District’s Los Vaqueros Watershed Lands (http://www.ccwater.com/losvaqueros/): Hands-on training in habitat requirements and assessment, pond designs, equipment demonstrations, tadpole identification and survey techniques. Personal vehicles required to travel to field site and liability waiver required.

May 3 Night Field Practicum (8:00pm-midnight) - Your registration includes optional attendance at a field training sessions at Los Vaqueros.  Trish and Greg will demonstrate USFWS survey methodology, as well as catching, handling, sexing and measuring adult frogs. Students can then practice these methods at various ponds.

Please note: this workshop is not intended to satisfy all requirements to obtain CRF permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Please contact that agency for further information if obtaining a Federal permit is your goal.

In order to reduce the teacher: student ratio, we are limiting activity in the ponds during the field session practice to 12 participants.  After pre-registering, please email us to let us know if you want to attend the evening field training practicum.

Important Information

Elkhorn Slough is subsidizing the cost of this workshop to make the event free to Department employees only.  If you sign up, please show up.  Otherwise, you will be taking the space of another Department employee, wasting funding, materials, etc.  Those who do not show up or notify us well in advance of their absence may not be offered priority enrollment at future such events.    

Due to cost constraints, we will not be serving refreshments or lunch for this event:  please bring your own lunch, coffee, water, etc.

Participants are expected to attend the full daytime training portion.

Attendance in the evening is optional. After registering, please inform Grey if you would like to attend the night time field training component.