Many herpetofaunal (salamander, frog, turtle, lizard, and snake) populations are declining rapidly throughout the western United States. In Colorado, some species have become scarce or no longer occur within their historical range. For example, northern leopard frogs formerly were common and widespread in the mountains of the Front Range, but now they are very scarce. Similarly, subalpine wetlands throughout the Southern Rockies formerly hosted many robust populations of toads, but today they are few and highly localized. Northern cricket frogs have not been found in Colorado since 1979. What’s going on?
The factors responsible for these declines include habitat loss and degradation, non-native species, pollution, excessive harvest or mortality on roads, and disease, but often the causes are unknown. Often we have insufficient information to determine whether a decline is cause for alarm or simply part of a natural fluctuation pattern. A major problem is that for most species we do not have enough information to know whether they are declining, increasing, or maintaining stable populations. This information gap makes it impossible to undertake appropriate and timely protection and management actions. The Colorado Herpetofaunal Atlas was initiated as a means of assembling and displaying information that will facilitate assessments of the distribution, abundance, and conservation status of reptile and amphibian populations throughout Colorado.
The Colorado Herpetofaunal Atlas is based on an interactive website that includes historical distributional information based on museum records, scientific publications, unpublished field survey reports, and other sources. Importantly, through this website, volunteers, scientists, and other interested parties can augment this historical information by reporting new observational data on an ongoing basis. In fact, the success of the Atlas depends on you and large numbers of other volunteers going into the field and reporting your observations. To ensure valid results, all submitted records are reviewed by experts before being entered into the database. You can validate your observations by submitting photographs of the animals you find.
The atlas addresses questions such as: Where have Colorado’s salamanders, frogs, turtles, lizards, and snakes been found? How recently have they been observed at each location? How has their abundance changed over time? The atlas website allows you to retrieve basic atlas results. For example, you can produce distribution maps for any species and can select the time frame for the map (e.g., all records since 1990). Additionally, the Atlas website serves as an educational resource that can help you answer questions such as: What kind of amphibian or reptile did I see? What kind of frog did I hear? In what kind of habitats might I find a yellow mud turtle? What is the life history and ecology of the Great Plains toad? How do I conduct a field survey, and what kind of information should I record when I see an amphibian or reptile?
Overall, the Colorado Herpetofaunal Atlas is tool for research, public involvement, education, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles.
Revised: July, 24 2003