How Gardeners Can Make Their Yards Friendlier to Amphibians

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JJ Apodaca, executive director of the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, explains that even common frogs and salamanders have lost enormous amounts of habitat and that backyard gardeners can meaningfully help. The most practical steps: leave fallen leaves on the ground, keep large rocks and rotting logs in place as shelter, add any fishless water feature (even a small pond), and avoid pesticides and herbicides — amphibians in many cases breathe directly through their skin, making them acutely vulnerable to chemical exposure. Apodaca notes that from 1780 to 1980 the U.S. destroyed 60 acres of wetlands every hour for 200 years, so any habitat a gardener creates gives local amphibians somewhere to lay eggs and survive.