Training

See also: California Red Legged Frog, Habitat Restoration

Workshop Objectives:         

This is a great opportunity to receive training in species identification, field sampling techniques, and the habitat requirements of the California red-legged frog (CRLF). Workshop information will be useful for evaluating CRLF habitats, assessing potential impacts from projects within the range of CRLF, 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 22.  Registration also includes attendance at one of two night time field training sessions on the evenings of either May 21 or May 22.  Night training is conducted from 8:00 pm until midnight.  All field sessions are at Elkhorn Ranch and Native Plant Nursery, 1957B Highway 1, Moss Landing.  More information on the field training sessions can be found on the Coastal Training Program website.

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 “Important preparation instructions for California red-legged frog workshop participants” and “Criteria for the Selection and Use of Light Sources and Binoculars for Visual 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 22 Classroom Session (8:00am-2:00pm) - An overview of the biology and management of the California red-legged frog.

May 22 Afternoon Session (2:00pm-6:00pm) - Field trip to Elkhorn Ranch and Native Plant Nursery, 1957B Highway 1, Moss Landing: 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.

Night Field Practicum (either May 21 or May 22, 8:00pm-midnight) - Your registration includes attendance at one of the two field training sessions at Elkhorn Ranch. Nina and Sean 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 each field session to 12 participants.  After pre-registering, please email us your preferred date of attendance; include a note if you are not flexible in the date that you are able to attend.  We cannot guarantee your preferred date, but we will do what we can to accommodate your preference.

Important Information

The fee includes the meeting venues, refreshments, lunch, and materials. 

 **3rd party registration not permitted**

If you cancel prior to April 24, 5 p.m., we will refund any registration fees minus a $50 processing fee.  We cannot refund registration fees for cancellation after this date however, please let us know if you cannot attend so we can allow others the opportunity to register.  If you pre-register and do not pay by April 24, 5 p.m., we cannot guarantee you a spot as our waiting list tends to be quite long.  You cannot substitute your registration for another, even in your own organization.  Late cancellation and not showing up for the entire training may jeopardize your future ability to enroll in our courses. We reserve the right to cancel or postpone this event should we receive insufficient registration by April 27; in that event, we will remit full refund.

We have a limited number of student discounts available. Please email grant@elkhornslough.org if you would like to inquire about a student subsidy.