| Agricultural stock ponds have become strong-hold habitats for the federally threatened California Red-legged Frog (Rana draytonii: CRLF) in coastal and central California ranch-lands. Where habitat conditions are favorable, CRLF are able to thrive in such environs. Though commonly, non-native aquatic predators dominate at the agricultural urban interface. In 2009, as a component of long-term monitoring and management commitments following the construction of the Pleasanton Municipal Golf Course; WRA identified two individual CRLF persisting at an invasive-dominated pond located on an off-site conservation easement preserved as a component of project mitigation. As a result, WRA embarked on a year-long effort to directly remove non-natives with only marginal results. Ultimately, WRA determined that the best approach would be to dewater the pond, which occurred in 2010. In 2011, the CRLF population began to flourish, increasing in both number and distribution. While the mechanism for such rapid growth is not entirely clear, it potentially suggests CRLF could have more complex associations with upland aestivation habitat. |