10,000 frogs released through multiagency conservation effort

The California red-legged frog, a federally threatened species absent from Yosemite National Park for decades, has made a significant comeback after 10 years of coordinated conservation work.

Partners marked the milestone today with the symbolic release of the program’s 10,000th frog in Yosemite Valley.

The recovery effort is led by the National Park Service in collaboration with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Yosemite Conservancy and San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.

“This milestone reflects years of focused work to restore a species that plays an important role in the park’s ecosystem,” said Rob Grasso, aquatic ecologist at Yosemite National Park. “After invasive bullfrogs eliminated red-legged frogs from the area decades ago, we removed those threats and created conditions for recovery. Today, multiple generations of frogs are established in Yosemite Valley.”

Invasive American bullfrogs, introduced to the park, drove the species’ decline. Elevated raccoon populations, fueled by open refuse sites that remained in use until the 1970s, also contributed to the loss. Park staff spent decades removing bullfrogs, while habitat improvements tied to the Merced River Plan restored wetlands, streambanks and river systems critical to the frog’s survival.

“Our partners have been essential to the recovery of the California red-legged frog,” said Kim Turner, acting field supervisor for the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office. “We appreciate the progress made over the past decade and remain committed to this collaborative effort.”

During the May 7 event, speakers will deliver remarks near Yosemite Falls before releasing several zoo-reared frogs, including the program’s symbolic 10,000th frog, nicknamed “Twain.”

“The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is proud to have assisted the recovery of California’s official state amphibian in Yosemite,” said Laura Patterson, amphibian and reptile conservation coordinator for the Department. “Grants administered by the Department, using funds approved by the voters of California, facilitated the habitat restoration necessary for the success of this recovery effort.”

A key component of the effort is a dedicated rearing facility established in San Francisco in 2016 through a partnership between the National Park Service and the San Francisco Zoological Society. At the facility, staff raise frogs from wild-collected eggs to one- and two-year-old juveniles in a controlled environment before releasing them into the park.

The program is supported by the Zoo-Park Partnership Program, facilitated by the Wildlife Restoration Foundation, and is considered a model for species recovery in California.

“When the program began in 2016, no California red-legged frogs remained in Yosemite Valley,” said Dr. Rochelle Stiles, director of field conservation at the San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Today, every frog in the valley traces back to this effort. Despite drought, severe winters and flooding, the population has proven resilient.”

This year, the zoo plans to release about 830 juvenile frogs into Yosemite while raising approximately 600 eggs for future release.

“Protecting vulnerable species helps preserve the park’s natural balance,” said Cassius Cash, president of Yosemite Conservancy. “This milestone shows what sustained collaboration can achieve.”

The effort also relied on private landowner Diane Buchholz of Garden Valley, Calif., who allowed researchers to collect frog eggs from her property.

The California red-legged frog gained national recognition in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain. The species, the largest native frog in the western United States, grows 2 to 5 inches long and is known for its reddish underside and soft, short calls. It inhabits ponds, streams and wet meadows.

About the National Park Service Established in 1916, the National Park Service preserves America’s most treasured natural and cultural places for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of current and future generations. Learn more at nps.gov.  

About the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information, visit www.fws.gov, or connect with us through any of these social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr.

About the California Department of Fish and Wildlife The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s mission is to protect California’s diverse fish, wildlife and plant resources, and the habitats upon which they depend, for their ecological values and enjoyment by the public today and for generations to come. For more information visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/ or follow CDFW on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube.

About San Francisco Zoo & Gardens Established in 1929, San Francisco Zoo & Gardens connects people to wildlife, inspires caring for nature and advances conservation action. An urban oasis, SF Zoo is home to nearly 1,500 exotic, endangered and rescued animals representing about 150 species. Located at the edge of the Pacific Ocean at Sloat Boulevard, the Zoo is open 365 days a year from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (4 p.m. in the winter). Visit www.sfzoo.org for more information.

About Yosemite Conservancy For more than 100 years, Yosemite Conservancy has supported the conservation of Yosemite’s natural and cultural resources and helped people develop a deeper relationship to the park. Thanks to generous donors, in recent years, the Conservancy has provided more than $180 million in grants to Yosemite for more than 950 projects. In 2026, we are providing $19 million in total support and funding around 60 new grants to the National Park Service for projects in the park. The Conservancy’s guided adventures and art classes, donor events, volunteer opportunities, wilderness services and bookstores help people from across the country and world connect with Yosemite. Learn more at yosemite.org.

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Media Contacts:
Yosemite National Park
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Krysten Kellum, CDFW Communications, (916) 825-7120
Nancy Chan, San Francisco Zoo & Gardens, (415) 840-6065
Peter Bartelme, Yosemite Conservancy

BOULDER, Colo. — A man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty Thursday to killing one person and injuring a dozen others in a 2025 firebombing attack on a demonstration in Boulder, Colorado, in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

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Mohamed Sabry Soliman looked down at a desk throughout the sentencing. He has meanwhile pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges for the attack last June. Prosecutors are weighing whether to seek the death penalty in the federal case, according to his attorneys.

Authorities say Soliman threw two Molotov cocktails at demonstrators at a pedestrian mall in downtown Boulder, a city of 100,000 people northwest of Denver that’s home to the University of Colorado.

Karen Diamond, 82, was injured in the attack and later died. A dozen others were also injured.

Soliman is an Egyptian national who federal authorities say was living in the U.S. illegally. Investigators allege he planned the attack for a year and was driven by a desire “to kill all Zionist people.”

Speaking to the court through an interpreter for nearly a half hour, Soliman offered apologies to the victims and condolences for Diamond’s death. “There are no words that can express my sadness for her passing,” Soliman said.

He said he wasn’t asking for leniency at sentencing for his convictions in state court and wants prosecutors pressing federal hate crime charges against him to seek the death penalty.

“If I went back, I would not have done this as this is not according to the teaching of Islam,” Soliman said. “What I did came out of myself and only myself.”

District Attorney Michael Dougherty said Soliman’s guilty pleas don’t show an acceptance of responsibility but rather “a surrender to the strength of the evidence” against him. Despite Soliman’s claims he doesn’t hate people who practice the Jewish faith, Judge Nancy Salomone concluded Soliman targeted the victims because they were Jewish. “You chose a time and a place and a set of circumstances and weapons that were designed to inflict the most pain that you could,” the judge said.

In a statement read earlier in court by a prosecutor, Diamond’s sons asked that Soliman not be allowed to see his family again “since he is responsible for our mother never seeing her family again.”

Andrew and Ethan Diamond said their mother suffered “indescribable pain” for over three weeks before her death. “In those weeks, we learned the full meaning of the expressions ‘living hell’ and ‘fate worse than death,’” Diamond’s sons said in the statement.

Soliman’s federal attorneys have said in court filings the attack “was profoundly inconsistent” with Soliman’s prior conduct and “came as a total shock to his family.”

At the time of the attack, Soliman had been living with his family in a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado Springs — about 97 miles away. He had moved to the U.S. from Kuwait in 2022 with his wife and their five children and worked in a series of low-paying jobs.

The couple divorced in April.

Investigators allege Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly demonstration at Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall. He threw two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had with him while yelling, “Free Palestine!”

Police said he told them he got scared because he had never hurt anyone before.

Federal prosecutors allege the victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual connection to Israel. Soliman’s federal defense lawyers argue he should not have been charged with hate crimes because he was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the political movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel.

An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.

State prosecutors have identified 29 victims in the attack. Thirteen were physically injured. The others were nearby and considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack, and Soliman was charged with animal cruelty.

Soliman’s wife, Hayam El Gamal, and their children spent 10 months in immigration detention until a federal judge in Texas ordered their release in April.

An immigration appeals court had dismissed their case to stay in the U.S. and issued a deportation order. But U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio allowed their release on the condition that El Gamal and her oldest child, who is 18, wear electronic monitoring.

Soliman’s attorneys seek to block the family’s deportation until a judge determines they won’t need to be present for court proceedings in his federal case.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A public memorial on Thursday honored the life and service of longtime Hawaii politician and attorney Colleen Hanabusa.

Hanabusa died March 6. She was 74.

Hanabusa served in Congress representing Hawaii’s 1st District from 2011 to 2015. She returned to Congress in 2016 after the death of U.S. Rep. Mark Takai.

On Thursday morning, the Hawaii State Senate recognized Hanabusa’s decade-long career at the state Capitol. She served as a state senator from 1999 to 2010, representing the Waianae district, and became Hawaii’s first female Senate president in 2007.

The Rev. Jeffrey Soga of the Waianae Hongwanji Mission opened the ceremony with a chant.

Lawmakers then shared memories of Hanabusa.

“The entire point of life is to take chances on dreams that seem crazy to most, but feel like destiny to you, and I think that embodies the Colleen Hanabusa that I knew… unwilling to compromise and give up because she knew what she was doing was right for the people of Hawaii,” said Senate President Ron Kouchi.

Beyond her political career, Hanabusa served as chair of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation board of directors. She stepped down for health reasons last September.

She is survived by her husband, John Souza.