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By Gary Every
One might expect the Amaragosa Toad to be endangered and indeed it is.
For one thing the name is confusing. The Amaragosa Toad is really a species of frog. Another problem is habitat. Being an amphibian that requires, water, marsh and shade in Nevada on the edge of Death Valley means habitat is rare and precarious.
In the high desert plains there stand the multi-story ruins of the ghost town of Rhyolite. During the height of its gold boom in 1906, Rhyolite boasted a public swimming pool whose water was changed daily in a wasteful display of perceived wealth and luxury.
No one lives in Rhyolite today except for a handful of wild burros and the ghosts. The swimming pool is empty and the ruins vanished.
The water for the swimming pool was pumped from Indian Springs a few miles away. The small clump of trees, which comprise Indian Springs, stands out for miles in this dry sparse landscape.
This small clear pond, the largest source of water for mountain ranges around has been fenced off to prevent public use. It is an attempt to rescue the precarious habitat of the Amaragosa Toad.
People are not the problem. At least most of us aren’t. One person in particular was the problem and that person, planted crawfish in those Death Valley waters. The crawfish prey upon the tadpoles and the already rare Amaragosa Toad becomes even more threatened.
Rhyolite is deserted, a ghost town. The crawfish and the frogs are the only residents of Indian Springs. The tiny town of Beatty on the other end of the valley holds a couple thousand people.
Along the highway there is a thriving business, Fran’s Star Ranch where the escorts employed at Fran’s Star Ranch have accepted the responsibility of preserving the frog’s habitat, capturing and removing crawfish from the healing waters of Indian Springs. Ribbit!
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