Groups Seek Protection For Boreal Toads In Rockies

DENVER (AP) - Three conservation groups are petitioning the federal government to list boreal toads in the southern Rocky Mountains, Utah, northeastern Nevada and southern Idaho as threatened or endangered.

Colorado and New Mexico consider boreal toads endangered, and it is a protected species in Wyoming. But the Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Native Ecosystems and Biodiversity Conservation Alliance said Wednesday there's still not enough protection of the toads' habitat.

Globally, various amphibian populations have been dropping. Boreal toads have been hurt by a parasitic fungus, but the groups say timber management, livestock grazing, pesticides, water management, recreation, development and road building also have hurt.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2005 removed the toads as a candidate for protection, saying the southern Rockies toads aren't a distinct population warranting protection.

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