On October 16, 2025, the Solano Land Trust Lands Team assisted with the release of 99 adult California red-legged frogs at a pond on Solano Land Trust land in the Cordelia Hills. California red-legged frogs are listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as threatened, and the Service had requested help from the land trust to find new homes for frogs raised at the San Francisco Zoo. The frogs released were the offspring of frogs from the nearby Ridgetop Ranch managed by WRA and from San Mateo County.
Staff from WRA, the Zoo, and a volunteer met Solano Land Trust staff early in the afternoon and headed on foot to the pond with two large plastic tubs holding the frogs and a layer of sphagnum moss to hold moisture. The weather was favorable, with mild temperatures and light winds.
Frogs were released at two locations, one each on the south and north sides of the pond. Although some frogs eagerly hopped out of their containers unaided, the team needed to manually transfer many of the frogs. Once in the pond, the newly released frogs appeared to be happy with their new surroundings.
WRA staff installed an audio recorder that will record frog calls over the winter-spring breeding season. WRA will analyze the recordings to determine if bullfrogs are in the pond. Bullfrogs are predators of red-legged frogs. None were seen during a recent nighttime survey, but adult bullfrogs could travel from other water sources during the winter.
The land trust hopes to restore a nearby pond over the next few years and following the restoration the pond will be available as high-quality habitat for red-legged frogs. While frogs will likely migrate on their own to the restored pond, future releases with frogs raised in captivity are also possible to augment the population.
