Wyoming toads and cattle: at home on the range

Biologists feared that the Wyoming toad was extinct until 1987 when a fisherman discovered a population at Mortenson Lake on Swanson’s land. The discovery created excitement about a chance to save the species and its habitat, and it led Swanson to sell the site to The Nature Conservancy. The Fish and Wildlife Service later bought it to create Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge. But this site alone cannot ensure the species’ future. The Wyoming Toad Recovery Plan calls for actions such as breeding toads in captivity and reestablishing them in areas within their historical range in southern Wyoming’s Laramie River Basin.