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Headstart the Holidays: Building Resilience for Imperiled Wildlife
“We found them. They survived the destruction from Hurricane Helene. And now, hopefully they’ll continue to grow and make bog babies of their own one day!”
Emilly Nolan, Southern Appalachians Program Coordinator, recalled her elation when, this summer, our team recaptured headstarted bog turtles we’d released back into the wild the previous year in North Carolina. They made it through the state’s most destructive hurricane, and they were still there.
November 24, 2025
Staying the Course for Amphibians and Reptiles During the Government Shutdown
On October 1, 2025, the federal government entered a shutdown after Congress did not pass new funding bills. Many essential services continue, but a large number of federal workers are furloughed and programs are suspended.
October 30, 2025
Where Restoration Meets Recovery: Protecting Amphibians and Reptiles in the Florida Panhandle
“It’s challenging and overwhelming at first, but the visual, quantifiable results are really satisfying, not to mention vital for the wildlife here.” That’s how Nicole Dahrouge, ARC Project Coordinator, described restoring habitats in the PARCAs (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas) of Florida’s Panhandle.
October 23, 2025
Being Proactive to Improve the Fate of Imperiled Species under the Endangered Species Act
Conservation works best when it addresses issues before they become crises, rather than scrambling to respond to them. Too often, efforts begin only after populations have plummeted and habitats have vanished, when recovery becomes far more costly and difficult.
September 16, 2025
The Power of Landowners: Amphibian and Reptile Protection Beyond Property Lines
A recent journal article makes it clear: preventing extinctions and ensuring healthy ecosystems will require the use of every possible conservation tool, deployed widely across property lines. This is a departure from the conservation strategy of the past, even from just a few decades ago. Historically, protecting nature has often meant focusing our efforts in the public lands we’ve set aside for this purpose. Now, we’re starting to realize how misguided that notion is.
August 17, 2025
Drought Resistant: Helping Amphibians Weather the Storm When There’s No Storm
“We’ve missed hearing our gopher frogs call,” said Sydney Sheedy, ARC Assistant Field Project Manager in the Francis Marion PARCA (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area), South Carolina. “Even the more common frog species here have been quieter than usual. It’s just so dry.”
June 3, 2025
No, Geneticists Didn’t Bring Back Dire Wolves, but Genetic Techniques Can Help Save At-Risk Species
On April 7th, 2025, Colossal, a company using genetic tools to resurrect extinct species, announced they had “successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction.” In other words, they claimed to have brought back a species extinct for over 10,000 years.
May 20, 2025
Safeguarding the Symphony: Protecting Common Species While They’re Still Common
Ecosystems are like symphonies, each species like an instrument. Some are bold and loud; others are subtle and quiet.
In conservation efforts, imperiled species tend to be the soloists, getting all the attention. But common species are the percussion, strings, and winds. If we lose them, the music is no longer harmonious.
April 15, 2025
Silenced by Suppression: The Role of Fire in Amphibian and Reptile Protection
Fire once spoke the language of renewal in ecosystems throughout the US, but decades of suppression have silenced its voice. Without naturally occurring seasonal fires reverberating across the country’s landscapes, these places have drastically changed. As a result, quite often, these habitats no longer provide the specialized conditions many native amphibians, reptiles, and other wildlife need.
February 16, 2025
Notes from the Field: Resilience and Progress for Amphibians and Reptiles in 2024
If 2024 were a field notebook, it would be full of insightful observations, data on our progress, a couple crossed-out mishaps, and a note scratched in the margin: ‘Keep going even when times are tough–we’re onto something big.’
This year, together with you and the rest of our partners, we made remarkable strides in protecting some of the nation’s most threatened amphibians and reptiles. From high mountain bogs to coastal wetlands, our team worked tirelessly to restore habitats, headstart vulnerable species (captive raise and release them), and engage communities.
Our field journal this year includes records from our teams on the ground in PARCAs (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas) from Arizona to Virginia.
December 13, 2024
Making Headway for Imperiled Species One Egg at a Time
On a drizzly fall morning in Georgia’s Coastal Plain, seven biologists went hunting, but this wasn’t a typical hunt. They donned kneepads, headlamps, and gloves and set off crawling side by side across an open area of grasses and other low-growing plants surrounded by spindly pines.
They were searching for two-inch clumps of translucent eggs laid in the mud of a seasonal wetland. Their target was laid by strikingly beautiful female frosted flatwoods salamanders, which deposit their eggs amongst the vegetation of wide, shallow depressions on the landscape in hopes they’ll soon fill with water.
November 20, 2024
A Mosaic of Conservation: Protecting the Most Important Places in PARCAs
The incredible landscapes of the US are like a mosaic, each ecosystem and each species within it working together to create a rich and magnificent larger picture.
Every lost place or species changes the picture, and some have a disproportionate effect. Losing critical habitat for an Endangered species would be like removing a large, centrally located tile, completely changing the mosaic.
To ensure the integrity and beauty of the whole mosaic, Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAs) act as carefully chosen, vibrant tiles in the piece. Each PARCA represents a crucial piece of the bigger design, selected through a precise process of scientific analysis and local knowledge.
September 10, 2024
Lessons from a Tanzanian Toad’s Extinction for the Amphibians and Reptiles of the US
In the words of Maya Angelou, “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” It’s in this spirit of perseverance that we resolve to apply the critical lessons learned from the extinction of the Kihansi spray toad from the wild in Tanzania to imperiled amphibians and reptiles in the US.
August 9, 2024
Busy Beavers: Bringing Back Dam-Building Rodents to Protect Amphibians and Reptiles
Beavers are trains with teeth. You may know that trains were historically one of the biggest forces behind the expansion of industry and development in the US, and as a result, redefined the country’s landscape. Before trains, it was North American beavers.
July 17, 2024
Moment in the Sun: Species’ Summer Adaptations Provide Ways to Protect Them
The sun has moved to its highest position in the sky this year. We’ve experienced the day with the longest period of daylight and the shortest night of the year. All of this can only mean one thing: it’s summertime in the US.
June 19, 2024
Even Armored Species Need Protection: Conserving the Turtles of the US
“It’s hard not to instantly fall in love with bog turtles. They have such big personalities for such small turtles. I could sit there and watch one all day,” said Emilly Nolan, ARC Southern Appalachians Program Coordinator.
June 7, 2024
Unlocking Awe: How Amphibians and Reptiles Can Invoke Its Profound Benefits
What’s your physical reaction when you experience something that inspires wonder, like a beautiful species or an immense sweeping landscape?
May 17, 2024
Why Shouldn’t You Be Optimistic About Protecting Endangered Wildlife?
How do you have optimism in the face of climate change, the collapse of wildlife populations, deforestation, pollution, and all
April 19, 2024
Protecting Alabama’s Ancient Wild Legacy in the Bankhead PARCA
In the Bankhead PARCA (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area) of Alabama, about an hour northwest of Birmingham, two incredibly specialized species share the region’s numerous aquatic habitats: the flattened musk turtle and the Black Warrior waterdog. These two highly endangered
January 15, 2024
2023: Tipping Point for Amphibians and Reptiles Throughout the United States
2023 was a banner year for protecting amphibians and reptiles across the US, and thanks to our incredible community, 2024 is shaping up to be even more impactful.
December 20, 2023
Reflections of Place: The Importance of Habitat for Amphibians and Reptiles
People are deeply connected to places. We tend to attach a great deal of meaning to them; they can spark feelings of comfort, inspiration, belonging, excitement, awe. Despite the significance a location may hold for us, we are not tied to these places and can always choose to live or go elsewhere. In other words, no matter how strong our feelings, our survival isn’t directly linked to the elements that make a place special.
December 11, 2023
Recovering the Chiricahua Leopard Frog for Generations to Come
If you think you hear snoring near a forest stream or wetland in Arizona or New Mexico in the spring or early summer, chances are you’re actually hearing the call of a Chiricahua leopard frog. These olive to dark green frogs—with their charcoal-colored spots, stocky bodies, and distinctive calls—are an iconic species of our Gila PARCA (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area) and Cochise PARCAs.
October 17, 2023
Hope in the Face of the Latest Research on Amphibian Declines
A study released on October 4 (Luedtke et al., 2023) contains some bad news for amphibians; they are still the most threatened group of vertebrates on Earth. It’s easy to feel less than hopeful when reading Luedtke et al.’s (2023) study, which provides a global assessment of the conservation status of amphibians.
October 11, 2023
Gopher Frog Recovery: At the Edge of a Precipice
On a hot summer afternoon in the Francis Marion Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area (PARCA), Coastal Plains Program Coordinator Ben Morrison and Assistant Field Project Manager Sydney Sheedy drive down a bumpy dirt road surrounded by longleaf pine trees. They’re heading to Sunset Pond, a not-even-on-the-map ephemeral wetland that represents one of the last healthy few of its kind in the forest, unchoked by invasive species and still reliably filling with water for part of the year.
August 17, 2023
Heeding the Call: Conservation of the Houston Toad
If we could step back in time to the end of the 19th century on a warm spring evening in eastern Texas, we’d be transported to a picturesque landscape. The countryside was dominated by grasses and short plants, dotted with clumps of trees. This unique and beautiful ecosystem, which has largely been lost, is called Post Oak Savannah. It’s a transition zone between the longleaf systems of the southeast and the grasslands of central Texas.
A spring night in the past would’ve also likely been punctuated by a chorus of the peaceful trills of the Houston toad. Today, the toad’s calls are becoming harder and harder to hear as its populations dwindle. This small toad species (about two or three inches long) with a perpetual frown and warty skin splattered with orange and brown splotches is holding out in the pockets of habitat that remain.
July 25, 2023
Bounty of Habitats for Rare Species: Protecting & Restoring the Francis Marion PARCA
Bounty of Habitats for Rare Species: Protecting & Restoring the Francis Marion PARCA Outside Charleston, South Carolina stretches the Francis Marion National Forest–a 259,000-acre classic Lowcountry spread of upland forest, bottomland hardwood swamp, maritime forest, salt marsh, and longleaf pine forest.
June 20, 2023
Crown Jewel of Louisiana’s Biodiversity: Conservation of the Pearl River Basin PARCA
Just east of New Orleans, there’s a diversity of reptiles and amphibians that are as wild and colorful as Mardi Gras. The animal that comes to mind for most people when they think of Louisiana is the American alligator—and while there are certainly alligators, there are also some 140 species of other amazing amphibians and reptiles that call the state home, from diamondback terrapins to Gulf Coast waterdogs to pine snakes and gopher tortoises. Unfortunately, 51 of those are listed as species of greatest conservation need.
The Pearl River Basin PARCA, or Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area, is the crown jewel of Louisiana; it holds 109 amphibian and reptile species and 98% of the species of greatest conservation need in the state. That makes our work here—from the dark and primordial bottomland hardwoods swamps to the open pineland savannahs—vital.
March 13, 2023
Combating Invasives to Give Native Species Back Their Competitive Edge
When you visit a new country, chances are you don’t want to eat at the same burger chain you have near your house, buy your souvenirs at a big box store from the US, and go to an American movie. You want to experience the cuisine, hear the language, and see the art that that particular country offers because those things reveal the fabric of a place’s history and culture.
We can use this concept to understand native ecosystems and invasive species. Just like you can find American burger chains around the world, there aren’t many ecosystems left that haven’t been impacted by invasive species. As humans have spread across the globe, we’ve taken all sorts of species with us—from house cats to flowers to reptiles—and put them where they didn’t historically occur. That has caused problems for our native species (the locals, if you will), and we are at risk of homogenizing our ecosystems and losing the icons of our natural diversity.
- Amphibians
- Conservation
- PARCAs
- Reptiles
- Restoration
- Southeastern US
- Southwestern US
- US-Wide
- Western US
February 21, 2023
Protecting Our Natural Heritage in the Southern Appalachians
Author Barbara Kingsolver best captured the spirit of the Southern Appalachians when she said, “the flag of Appalachia should be a salamander.” For many, these mountains are embodied by a cool mountain creek, where every rock flip reveals a salamander. In fact, the Southern Appalachian Mountains—including parts of West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia—contain some of the most important places for amphibian and reptile conservation in the world. Within the ridges, valleys, and streams are dozens of habitat types supporting a vast number of imperiled species that need our help, from our smallest turtle to the heaviest salamander in North America.
February 4, 2023
Conservation in the Land of Enchantment’s Gila PARCA
Deep in the heart of the New Mexico desert, something unexpected arises from the drylands–mountain ranges teeming with life. These sky islands are home to some of the most biodiverse habitats in the world. That’s why ARC has designated one such area in the western part of the state dubbed the Land of Enchantment as a Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area, or PARCA. It’s known as the Gila (pronounced hee-luh) PARCA. It is located in the area surrounding and including Silver City, New Mexico on the ancestral lands of the Chiricahua (pronounced chr-uh-kaa-wuh) Apache Nation.
The formation of sky islands is a story rooted in the geologic history of our world. Around 20,000 years ago, what’s now the deserts of the southwest flourished with greenery and water. As the climate began to warm, creating the deserts we know today, plant and wildlife species became stranded and isolated in these high-elevation mountain ranges where they continued to evolve in an array of habitats.
November 30, 2022
Thinking Bigger: Coordinated Place-Based Conservation in PARCAs
To conserve wildlife and wild places across the U.S., together, we must answer the call to act collectively and consider the big picture. At ARC, we think beyond individual animals and individual species. Even as we recognize and celebrate the unique importance of each flattened musk turtle in Alabama and each Chiricahua leopard frog in New Mexico, we never stop thinking about the broader ecosystem context in which these creatures exist because that holds the key to their future. Amphibians and reptiles face an incredibly diverse set of threats across the country, from habitat loss and fragmentation to disease and persecution. If we want to slow their declines, we have to prioritize the most important areas where they are found and build healthy ecosystems and populations in those places.
That’s why our conservation strategy is place-based. It rests on identifying and working in what we call Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas, or PARCAs. We have identified hundreds of such places all over the country that stretch from the Southern Appalachians to the Southeastern coastal plains, across the heartland prairies to the deserts of the Southwest, and up to the Pacific Northwest.
November 21, 2022
Black Warrior Waterdog and Flattened Musk Turtle
Meet two of Alabama’s strangest, most specialized reptiles and amphibians.
In the Black Warrior River watershed of Alabama, two rare, mysterious, and little-known species swim the waters. One, the Black Warrior waterdog, is an amphibian, and the other, the flattened musk turtle, is a reptile. Both are highly endangered, and both are tailor-made for the habitat that they share, making our work in the Bankhead Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area (PARCA) west of Birmingham a two-for-one conservation opportunity. This PARCA is positively teeming with life; Alabama is a global hotspot of aquatic biodiversity. By restoring these imperiled and highly biodiverse waterways, we can recover these two amazing species, protect countless other species, and create healthier water for the people who depend on these rivers for consumption and recreation.
November 1, 2022
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