Page 1 of 1
Sit, Stay, Survey: How Detection Dogs Are Helping Bog Turtle Conservation
A wet nose is sniffing as light paws patter through the grassy wetland. Stevie isn’t looking for a missing person or narcotics. She’s learning to detect the nests of one of the smallest and most elusive turtles in North America.
July 23, 2026
From the Ground Up: Houston Toad Recovery Through Habitat Restoration and Egg Releases
“Within a few weeks, eggs in the water became thousands of tiny toadlets moving out into the landscape,” ARC Private Lands Biologist Zach Truelock said.
April 28, 2026
Mapping Amphibian and Reptile Protection from Coast to Coast
Every region of the United States has its icons. Mountains. Rivers. Foods. Sports teams. But they also have wildlife species that define their character, even if most people never see them.
March 12, 2026
Farmers as Stewards: Private Lands Conservation for Salamanders and Ecosystems
“What happens on one property does not stop at the fence line. Streams connect neighbors and entire watersheds, and if everyone assumes someone else will take care of them, these systems continue to degrade.”
January 22, 2026
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
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
Year of the Snake: Scaling Up Protections for Declining Snake Populations
In the traditional Chinese calendar, this year corresponds with the snake, which symbolizes good fortune, intelligence, and procreation. Beyond the symbolism, all of these things are needed to safeguard the future of these incredible animals in the Year of the Snake.
When it comes to their good fortune, increasing awareness and changing perceptions would go a long way toward improving their luck.
January 27, 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
What We Know–and Don’t–About Helene’s Impacts on Reptiles and Amphibians
Millions of people across the Southeastern US are coming together to begin to overcome the impacts of Helene.
And it’s this joining of forces that’s going to be critical for our recovery. No one can do it alone. The uniting of communities and collaboration among government agencies, nonprofits, and other groups are going to be imperative to start healing from the damages that we’ve sustained, both in terms of human losses and also the casualties of our wildlife and wild places.
October 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
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
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
Cochise PARCAs: Conserving the Southwest’s Biological Richness
Although southern Arizona is often associated with harsh heat and dry deserts, the area’s biodiversity stands as a testament to a beautifully rich landscape. With flashes of bright orange and yellow, western tanagers fly among mountaintop trees. Cottonwood and desert willow trees grow along lush wetlands. Apache trout swim in cold, high-elevation streams. Montezuma quail roam the pine-oak woodlands. Desert cottontails and Sonoran Desert tortoises traverse the sands and brush of the desert vistas dotted with iconic saguaro cacti. Jaguars even inhabit Cochise County.
In terms of herpetofauna or “herps” (reptiles and amphibians), this area–encompassing the Chihuahuan Desert to the east and the Sonoran Desert to the west and all the habitat in between–is unparalleled. In most US states, we’re focused on protecting between twenty and forty herp species. In Arizona, our two Cochise PARCAs (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas), Cochise East and West, each boast more than forty herp species.
September 19, 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
Restoring a Desert Oasis to Bolster Narrow-Headed Garter Snake Populations
Have you slept in a tent alone—a tent
Out under the desert sky—
Where a thousand thousand desert miles
All silent round you lie?—
The dust of the aeons of ages dead,
And the peoples that trampled by?
Have you looked in the desert’s painted cup,
Have you smelled at dawn the wild sage musk,
Have you seen the lightning flashing up
From the ground in the desert dusk?
May 25, 2023
Recovering the Frosted Flatwoods Salamander
Longleaf pine ecosystems once blanketed the Southeast, covering over ninety million acres from Texas to Virginia. Many varied species, from red-cockaded woodpeckers and quail to eastern diamondback rattlesnakes and dusky gopher frogs, evolved to live among the frequently burning, grassy, sun-soaked savannas.
April 25, 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
Small Turtles, Big Future: Southern Population of the Bog Turtle
When we think about the future for the bog turtle, Glyptemys muhlenbergii, we should first consider the past. If we could hit rewind, and look back in time—millions of years back in time—there would be a vast stretch of land full of muddy bogs and fens, from upstate New York down to Georgia. Within those grassy, flooded meadows fed by springs would have hidden thousands upon thousands of one of our favorite reptiles in the world: the bog turtle.
When they are born, bog turtles are the size of a quarter. As adults, they’re only four inches. They are mysterious and secretive, spending most of their time buried in mud. Everything about them encapsulates a slow and steady approach to life; they reach sexual maturity late, lay only a few eggs a year, and can live for at least sixty years. Some of the older individuals have shells as smooth as glass, worn down from years of burrowing in the habitat for which evolution shaped them over the course of fifteen million years.
October 19, 2022
Page 1 of 1