Bishop - Frog/cow mystery probed in Coyote area

The mountain yellow-legged frog, has been dying off in great numbers in the Coyote area, apparently due to a fungus that scientists now conclude was not introduced by Yribarren’s cattle. Coyote area photos courtesy Ron Yribarren/frog photo courtesy DFG

8-12-2008

The Forest Service and an Owens Valley cattleman will collaborate on a plan for access to grazing allotments without spreading a fungus that threatens the mountain yellow-legged frog.
The goal is to return Ron Yribarren’s cattle to allotments that run from Big Pine to Bishop in the Inyo National Forest for summer grazing in 2008.
Shortly before Yribarren and his crew were scheduled to move 400 head of cattle into the mountains in June, the allotment was pulled. The California Department of Fish and Game and Forest Service had found a die-off of what had once been a thriving population of the frogs in Cow Creek in Coyote Flats.
“We didn’t like doing it,” said District Ranger Margaret Wood at a meeting held Friday. “Emergencies for natural resources are unplanned, catastrophic events that require inescapable urgency and action. That’s what I thought we had.” Tests verified the frogs had died of an infection from the chytrid fungus, a spore that has impacted more than 500 species of frogs worldwide. In 2007, the frog count in the creek was 1,500; by the time DFG crews did the assessment in June 2008, there were 20 to 30. “They were literally dying in our hands,” said DFG biologist Curtis Milliron.

Sanger Meadow in Coyote Flats where rancher Ron Yribarren has grazed his cattle in years past. Coyote area photos courtesy Ron Yribarren/frog photo courtesy DFG

The fungus was not introduced into Cow Creek by Yribarren’s cows. The grazing allotment has not been used since 2005 either because of a Forest Service or Yribarren’s determination that conditions were not good.
Ironically, both Wood and Milliron agreed that erosion control measures Yribarren took in the Cow Creek area in the 1990s had provided improved habitat for the frog.
The mountain yellow-legged frog is a candidate for endangered species status. It was determined to be “warranted but precluded” in January of 2003. According to Milliron, the federal decision not to list the frog was due to lack of funding for additional species.
“It behooves all of us to show intent to protect the frog,” said Wood. “Once a species is listed it becomes very difficult from a land management standpoint. It’s in all our interests to do the right thing here.”

Additional testing indicates the fungus is not in Coyote Creek, a waterway unconnected to and above the affected Cow Creek. Cow Creek runs into Baker Creek, which has yet to be tested. Milliron anticipates doing the testing in Baker toward the end of August.
“If it’s in Cow Creek, it’s in Baker and then the Owens River. It’ll end up all the way from Big Pine south to Los Angeles,” said Yribarren.
The strategy, according to Wood, is to figure out a route or grazing pattern that does not take Yribarren’s herd from affected creeks into unaffected areas. Yribarren pointed out routes that could be used to herd the cattle into the grazing area that would meet the goal.
Earlier efforts to find options for Yribarren to use to his allotments this year were stymied by lack of information on the spread of the chytrid fungus. In addition, the cattle have to be off the mountain before the first frost because of the presence of a noxious weed fatal to cows.
According to Wood, the only compensation to Yribarren would be a credit for his allotment payment. By the time Yribarren got the no-go order, he had already taken crews and materials into Coyote Flats in preparation for the drive. In addition, the mountain grazing allows the rancher’s Owens Valley grazing area to re-seed. He had planned on adding to the herd, but had to rescind in order not to overgraze his valley acreage. “I’ll have to feed 400 cows and their calves for two months during the winter,” he said. Hay prices have gone up 33 percent since 2007.
Both Yribarren and Milliron discovered the die-off on Cow Creek in early June. Yribarren was on the mountain with his crews when he saw and photographed dead frogs along Cow Creek. “I took the photos to Forest Service because I was afraid I’d be blamed for it,” he said. The DFG crew went to the area during the first week in June as part of a summer training program. Milliron had heard of frog die-off, found no frogs below a Forest Service ATV bridge and an estimated 1,000 dead frogs above the bridge.
One of the frustrations with the chytrid fungus is that no one knows exactly how it spreads. According to Milliron, the spores move on their own and could be transported by insects or animals and people. While other frog species have gone extinct because of the disease, the mountain yellow-legged frogs have barely hung on primarily because of its relatively long lifespan of 10-15 years. Milliron said the tadpoles take 2-3 years to morph into froglets, then another 2-3 to reach breeding age. Tadpoles can become infected with the fungus, but not fatally. The fungus attacks the keratin in the frog’s skin interfering with its ability to take in water. “The frogs basically die of thirst,” Milliron said.
“The most significant thing,” Milliron said, “is that in the last 8-10 years, some $10 million has been put into research in California.”
Sixty-five frogs, similar to the Sierra species, found in the San Bernardino/San Jacinto ranges were removed from their habitat and are being bred in captivity. In another study, researchers treated infected frogs with an anti-fungal bath and re-released them into a hot environment. After three years, the frogs are still maintaining their resistance and are breeding.
“They’re still infected with the fungus, but at lower levels,” said Milliron.
“Looking forward, we have to realize this thing (the fungus) is bigger than us, than all the scientists,” said Inyo County First District Supervisor Linda Arcularius at Friday’s meeting. “There’s no proof that keeping the cattle away will keep it from spreading. You can’t plan for what you can't control.”