Nevada
Endangered Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frogs Are Making a Comeback
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2F41%2F93%2F4193f623-6009-4c63-a17d-c5f384754adc%2Frasiadult_70158-20.jpg?ssl=1 "Endangered Sierra Nevada Yellow-Legged Frogs Are Making a Comeback")
Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs are rebounding from near-extinction in California.
University of California Santa Barbara
After nearly disappearing for good, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs are once again hopping happily around California’s alpine lakes.
Scientists are celebrating the comeback of the amphibians (Rana sierrae) in Yosemite National Park. Though they’re still endangered, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs have made a “remarkably successful” recovery from the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus, researchers report this month in the journal Nature Communications.
“The lakes are alive again, completely transformed,” says study co-author Roland Knapp, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, to USA Today’s Elizabeth Weise. “You literally can look down the shoreline and see 50 frogs on one side and 50 on the other and in the water you see 100 to 1,000 tadpoles. It’s a completely different lake.”
Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs are small creatures measuring 1.5 to 3.75 inches long, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They live high in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, at elevations between 4,500 and 12,000 feet above sea level. The frogs inhabit marshes, ponds, lakes and streams, where they feast on bugs and other amphibians. They also serve as a source of food for birds, snakes, coyotes and bears.
Dozens of frogs are now visible along the shores of some alpine lakes in the Eastern Sierra.
Roland Knapp
Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs tend to have yellowish-orange bellies and dark, splotchy backs, but their coloring can vary widely—from greenish-brown to gray to red. They don’t have vocal sacks, so instead the frogs grind their teeth together underwater when trying to attract mates in the spring.
The frogs were once abundant throughout the Sierra Nevada. But, after the arrival of European settlers in the mid-19th century during the California gold rush, their numbers began to dwindle.
In addition to gold, miners also discovered more than 1,500 alpine lakes in California. The lakes were beautiful, but they were lacking in fish—so the miners began stocking them. The introduction of non-native species—including rainbow trout, grayling and Atlantic salmon—decimated the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs.
Stocking ended in the 1990s, but even without help from humans, the non-native fish continued to reproduce and thrive. Then, in the early 2000s, the few surviving frogs in the Sierra Nevada faced yet another threat: the amphibian chytrid fungus.
The highly contagious fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) causes chytridiomycosis, an infectious skin disease that has caused mass die-offs and extinctions among amphibians around the world. In 2014, with their populations crashing, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs were added to the endangered species list.
But then scientists noticed something peculiar: In some places, Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog numbers were increasing. It appeared that at least some of the small creatures—particularly those living in lakes without any non-native fish—had developed a resistance to the fungus.
Scientists carefully transported frogs that appeared to be resistant to the fungus to other lakes.
Roland Knapp
“The frogs that survive better have certain variations in their genomes,” says Erica Bree Rosenblum, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, to ScienceNews’ Martin J. Kernan. “Since they’re the ones surviving, they’re passing their genes down, and over time the whole population is changing toward having these more favorable genetic mutations.”
Researchers decided to implement an ambitious plan to save the species. Starting in 2006, they began gathering up the fungus-resistant survivors and re-introducing them to other alpine lakes without fish.
Now, nearly two decades later, scientists say their plan worked. These Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog populations are now mostly self-sustaining and have “a low probability of extinction over 50 years,” they write in the paper. They hope the successful reintroduction of Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frogs might serve as a source of inspiration for scientists working to save other species battling new diseases.
“These frogs have somehow figured out how to exist, even thrive in the face of this pathogen,” Knapp tells the San Francisco Chronicle’s Kurtis Alexander. “When I saw these frog populations recovering on their own, that was the first time in 15 years working on this species that I felt a glimmer of hope.”
First team
P: Makamae Eugenio, Bishop Gorman – The junior had seven wins with a 4.33 ERA and 96 strikeouts and hit .442 with six home runs and 25 RBIs at the plate.
P: Ava Henderson, Arbor View – The junior went 11-5 with a 2.68 ERA and 139 strikeouts, and hit .337 with 29 RBIs. She is committed to Cal Baptist.
P: Ava Koenig, Palo Verde – The senior was the 5A pitcher of the year and went 13-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 103 strikeouts, and hit .554 with five home runs and 29 RBIs. She is committed to Boston University.
P: Madison Pitts, Faith Lutheran – The freshman was the 4A Mountain League pitcher of the year, going 15-0 with a 0.36 ERA and 141 strikeouts for the 4A state champion.
C: Presley Crowder, Liberty – The sophomore hit .418 with 33 hits and 25 RBIs.
C: Chase Magdaleno, Coronado – The senior hit .427 with 35 hits and 23 RBIs.
IF: Kayleen Enriquez, Palo Verde – The senior hit .410 with 34 hits and 16 RBIs. She is committed to UC Riverside.
IF: Summer Gilliam, Coronado – The senior hit .551 with 49 hits and 25 RBIs.
IF: Bailey Goldberg, Coronado – The senior hit .575 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs to be named the 5A MVP. She is committed to Oregon.
IF: Rosie Hensley Mokiao, Shadow Ridge – The sophomore hit .544 with 37 hits and 40 RBIs.
IF: Taylor Johns, Palo Verde – The senior hit .622 with a state-record 21 home runs and 43 RBIs. She is committed to Georgia.
IF: Breanna Nielson, Shadow Ridge – The sophomore hit .562 with 50 hits and 25 RBIs.
IF: Madilyn Lowy, Arbor View – The junior hit .375 with five home runs and 37 RBIs.
IF: Samantha Williams, Palo Verde – The senior hit .419 with four home runs and 26 RBIs.
OF: Lyla Baxter, Green Valley – The senior hit .400 with four home runs, 18 RBIs and 18 hits. She is committed to UC San Diego.
OF: Devaeh Crawford, Shadow Ridge – The freshman hit .457 with five home runs, 37 hits and 35 RBIs.
OF: Alexis Kearnes, Palo Verde – The junior hit .429 with 33 hits and 19 RBIs.
OF: Malaya Tellis, Arbor View – The junior hit .395 with 47 hits and 31 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
OF: Gwen Thewes, Bishop Gorman – The junior hit .500 with five home runs, 18 RBIs and 50 hits.
OF: Peyton Williams, Arbor View – The freshman hit .571 with seven home runs and 39 RBIs.
UTL: Melia Aionaaka, Shadow Ridge – The junior hit .398 with 25 hits, 23 RBIs and went 9-3 on the mound with a 4.18 ERA.
UTL: Abigail Estrada, Centennial – The sophomore hit .461 with 47 hits and 24 RBIs.
UTL: Haley Kearnes, Palo Verde – The senior hit .382 with 29 hits and 17 RBIs, and was 10-0 with a 2.73 ERA on the mound.
UTL: Audrey Melton, Arbor View – The senior hit .449 with 42 RBIs and was 12-2 on the mound with a 1.94 ERA and 49 strikeouts.
Coach of the year
Angel Council, Palo Verde – The first-year coach guided the Panthers to a 24-1 record to win the Class 5A state championship.
Second team
P: Hailey Dixon, Centennial – The senior went 9-5 with a 4.51 ERA in 107 innings pitched.
P: Laila Esparza, SECTA – The sophomore hit .500 with five home runs and 39 RBIs and went 11-2 on the mound with a 2.02 ERA and 87 strikeouts.
P: Jaycie Hayes, Pahrump Valley – The freshman went 21-7, which led the state for wins, with a 1.52 ERA and the most strikeouts in the state with 298, and hit .462 with 54 RBIs.
P: Alissa Perkins, Desert Oasis – The junior had a 1.96 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched, and hit .525 with four home runs and 33 RBIs.
C: Campbell Cole, Centennial – The senior hit .352 with 38 hits and 18 RBIs.
C: Halle Law, Palo Verde – The sophomore hit six home runs and had 21 RBIs as the everyday catcher for the 5A state champion.
IF: Ava Cruz, Palo Verde – The sophomore hit .328 with five home runs, 20 hits and 20 RBIs.
IF: Lilly Easton, Arbor View – The sophomore hit .378 with 45 hits and 22 RBIs.
IF: Abigail Estrada, Centennial – The sophomore hit .461 with 47 hits and 24 RBIs.
IF: EmmaLynn Hussey, Doral Academy – The sophomore hit. 446 with 33 hits and 10 RBIs.
IF: Isabella Lenahan, Spring Valley – The senior hit .662 with eight home runs and 62 RBIs.
IF: Logan Sanford, Liberty — The senior hit .440 with 37 hits and 12 RBIs.
IF: Zoey TarBush, Faith Lutheran – The sophomore hit .556 with 45 hits, five home runs and 33 RBIs, and went 10-1 with a 1.07 ERA on the mound.
OF: Sophie Bendlin, Coronado – The junior hit .452 with 33 hits.
OF: Amelia Carlson, Centennial – The sophomore hit .393 with 33 hits and 21 RBIs
OF: Sophia DeMonbrun, Clark – The senior hit .707 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs, and recorded 195 strikeouts and nine wins on the mound.
OF: Lauryn Galvin, Green Valley – The senior hit .422 with 19 hits and 10 RBIs.
OF: Elise Hanseen, Centennial – The senior hit .385 with 35 hits and 26 RBIs.
OF: Keileanna Johnson, Palo Verde – The sophomore hit .321 with 17 hits and 12 RBIs and on defense did not have an error.
UTL: Loa Duarte, Shadow Ridge – The freshman hit .444 with 24 hits and 23 RBIs and went 8-2 on the mound.
UTL: Brynndal Gonzales, Faith Lutheran – The sophomore hit .508 with 33 hits and 54 runs scored.
UTL: Francesca Hull, Arbor View – The sophomore hit .359 with 28 hits and 23 RBIs.
UTL: Elena Rodriguez, Legacy – The senior hit .475 with 19 hits and 11 RBIs and was 13-3 with a 3.13 ERA.
UTL: Charli Taylor, Liberty – The freshman hit .427 with eight home runs, 42 hits and 24 RBIs.
Honorable mention
Evaleene Armendariz, Pahrump Valley
Victoria Beebe, Legacy
Ella Bradley, Faith Lutheran
Zoey Brager, Faith Lutheran
Amelia Carlson, Centennial
Shawnee Casorla, Arbor View
Madison Castellon, Legacy
Gabriella Colarco, Cadence
Kalea Copenhefer, Doral Academy
Kamzlee Dalton, Virgin Valley
Evie Davis, Pahranagat Valley
Bella Dimmick, Faith Lutheran
Kaitlyn Dunigan, Desert Oasis
Maliah Harrell, Arbor View
Mia Mor Hernandez, Green Valley
Leah Henderson, Foothill
Julia Leavitt, Virgin Valley
Aliyah Loafea-Carter, Arbor View
Valeria Lopez, Centennial
Dani Luevanos, Liberty
Emiko Kalani, Mojave
Amelia McClerkin, Legacy
Audrie McClerkin, Legacy
Arianni Mollinedo, Coronado
Aspen Middaugh, Pahrump Valley
Ayla Murphy, Bonanza
Sofia Nazario, Legacy
Jasmine Ponce, Cimarron-Memorial
Scotti Powell, Laughlin
Sofia Quigley, Palo Verde
Naima Ralston, SLAM! Nevada
Jasslyn Ramos, Cimarron-Memorial
Natalie Ramos, Basic
Taylor Ramos, Cimarron-Memorial
Payton Rogers, Boulder City
Veyda Simon, Desert Oasis
Gia Salazar, Lake Mead Academy
Davie Slack, Virgin Valley
Portland Stacey, Liberty
Megan Upp, Doral Academy
Camren VanThomme, Foothill
Jaylynn Wymbs, Laughlin
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
HopeLink of Southern Nevada is hosting its first-ever “Dink for HopeLink” Pickleball Tournament. This is the organization’s main fundraiser of the year Join them for some friendly competition while helping raise money to PREVENT homelessness in Southern Nevada.
HopeLink of Southern Nevada is a non-profit family resource center providing much needed assistance to PREVENT families, individuals and vulnerable seniors from facing homelessness.
‘Dink for HopeLink’ is happening at CHICKEN N’ PICKLE June 28th, 2026 from 1:30pm – 5pm.
Nevada County is pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Evans has been selected to serve as Nevada County’s next Public Health Officer.
“Dr. Evans brings a long history of leadership in healthcare in Nevada County to the Health Officer position,” said Public Health Director Toby Guevin. “His expertise and knowledge of local health needs and providers across the county will be invaluable as we work to strengthen the health of our community. I also want to thank Dr. Cooke for her dedicated service as Health Officer for the past four years, guiding us through numerous challenges coming out of COVID 19.”
Dr. Evans was selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, which drew from a pool of highly qualified candidates nationwide. His start date is planned for July 1, 2026, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors at their June 16 meeting.
“I’m honored to step into the role of Public Health Officer for Nevada County,” said Dr. Evans. “This is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the community, focusing on prevention, preparedness, and improving health outcomes. I look forward to supporting a science based public health team that is responsive, transparent, and grounded in the needs of our residents.”
Dr. Evans is a physician with more than two decades of clinical and leadership experience. Since 2022, he has served as Chief Medical Officer for Tahoe Forest Health, overseeing clinical quality, patient safety, emergency preparedness, communicable disease response, and regulatory compliance across two critical access hospitals and a broad network of services. He has served as both CEO and Chief Medical Officer at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, and served as CEO at Mercy Folsom and Chief Medical Officer at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.
A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Evans practiced for 15 years in Grass Valley after completing residency at UC Davis. He holds an MD from UCLA, an MBA from CSU Sacramento, and a BS in Biology from UC Davis. Dr. Evans lives in Nevada County with his wife, Jennifer, and has two adult daughters.
California law requires each county to appoint a licensed physician as Health Officer. The Health Officer is responsible for carrying out provisions of the State Health and Safety Code and serves as the physician of record for all Public Health clinical services. The Health Officer reports to the Public Health Director.
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