N.M. plans to restore high-mountain toad

SANTA FE, N.M., Jan. 30 (UPI) -- New Mexico environmental officials said they will reintroduce the boreal toad into the state in hopes of restoring the high-mountain amphibian to the region.

There have been no reports of the toad in New Mexico since 1996, and the last confirmed sighting was 10 years before that, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Leland Pierce of the state Fish and Game Department said biologists continue to look for the toads but are almost certain they are locally extinct.

The closest confirmed wild population is in Colorado.

The toad -- 2 to 4 inches long, black and covered with red warts -- might seem unattractive. But it is the only toad found more than 10,000 feet above sea level.

The Colorado Department of Wildlife has been breeding the toad and can supply New Mexico with tadpoles, Pierce said. If the U.S. Forest Service approves the plan, New Mexico could begin its recovery plan this spring.

Biologists suspect the chytrid fungus wiped out New Mexico's toads. Pierce said the fungus is still something of a mystery, and the best environmental workers can do is to prevent it from spreading by cleaning boots and nets when moving from one pond to another.