To avoid a real-life Frogger tragedy, volunteers have established a frog taxi that carts these species of concern across the highway.
The northern red-legged frogs lay their eggs in the Harborton wetlands around Portland, Oregon. Once the frogs lay their eggs, they head back to their summer habitat, meaning they must cross the busy and often deadly U.S. Highway 30 between Portland and Scappoose.
A concerned resident first noticed the problem 10 years ago on a rainy winter evening. They saw the roadway covered in squished frogs, prompting those in the area to create the Harborton Frog Shuttle.
These deaths are especially concerning because the red-legged frog's population is declining. Frogs feast on insects and serve as meals for predators, keeping the ecosystem balanced and healthy. Without frogs, dramatic changes in the ecosystem could occur, a continuing threat produced by significant habitat loss and a particular fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, that is lethal to amphibians.
On the night of the frog taxi cab, Philip Fensterer, known as the "frog taxi captain," told Oregon Public Broadcasting. "We're above 48 degrees right now, and the pavement's wet. It could be a really good night."
To intercept frogs before they cross the highway, volunteers constructed a fence of weed barrier fabric to block them. Once the frogs hit the barrier, the volunteers collect them and taxi them safely across the highway to their destination.
"We put thousands of volunteer hours in every winter, and I don't know how sustainable that is," Fensterer told OPB. The group is in conversations with the Oregon Wildlife Foundation and the Oregon Department of Transportation to develop a more sustainable solution. One proposal is the installation of a box under the roadway to offer frogs a way to cross.
Tim Greseth, executive director of the Oregon Wildlife Foundation, is actively seeking a solution. The organization has finished the first phase of the project, which included a feasibility study and concept design.
The second phase, which will cost more than half a million dollars, will focus on design and engineering.
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Definitely 👍 Greseth told OPB: "We're taking this one step at a time, and so our first goal is to raise $544,000 for design and engineering. With plans mostly complete, we can then begin looking for the funding we need to build and install the culvert and associated crossing features."
However, the full plans for this project will not be realized until 2027. Meanwhile, the Harborton Frog Taxi continues to bring frogs to safety.
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