Hope For The Boreal Toad: Conservation Efforts In Colorado

Colorado is home to a wide variety of wildlife and, naturally, some of the species that call the Centennial State home are considered threatened or endangered.

Read More: Colorado is Home to Seven Endangered or Threatened Amphibians |

As you'll see above, Colorado is home to a total of seven amphibians that are considered either threatened or endangered but luckily, one species of endangered toads is likely to make a comeback in the near future.

Endangered Colorado Toad is Likely to Make a Comeback

The boreal toad is one of seven species of amphibians that is considered endangered in Colorado and carries the same distinction in the Centennial State's southern neighbor New Mexico as well.

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However, numerous groups including the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the state's Native Aquatic Species Restoration Facility have been actively working toward reintroducing the species in a big way.

In fact, 2,200 boreal toads were released into Colorado's wetlands near Creede this past June, an effort that followed a similar initiative near Gunnison in 2022.

While it seems that instances of animal species becoming endangered typically have things like pollution and development to blame, the boreal toad's near demise in Colorado is actually primarily a fault of Mother Nature.

Over the past two decades, the population of boreal toads in Colorado has steadily declined due to a disease caused by a certain type of fungus.

However, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department is working vigilantly to reintroduce the species in hopes that the boreal toads will once again thrive in the state.