Northlake Development Western Spadefoot Toad Relocation Program

Leatherman BioConsulting, Inc. biologists have worked on various projects to salvage and relocate amphibians and reptiles before construction or management actions that temporarily impact habitat. After discovering a large western spadefoot population in a series of temporary ponds on a development site, we prepared a detailed western spadefoot relocation plan to capture and relocate the population of western spadefoot from the development site to a series of created mitigation ponds.

Our team worked closely with the Developer and the resource agencies to identify suitable relocation sites, design and construct mitigation ponds, relocate spadefoots following a strict protocol for capture, handling, and transport, and monitor the success of the relocation over time. Over 2,300 individuals were relocated, and successful breeding was observed the following year.