Johnny O'Neil Late Successional Reserve Habitat Restoration and ...

Cascades Frog (Rana cascade)
Environmental Baseline
The Cascades frog is a medium sized frog, olive to olive-brown with sharply defined dark
splotches on the back. It is a montane species found in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington and
in the Cascade Range of Oregon, Washington, and northern California (Blaustein et. al. 1995). It
appears that populations are declining throughout the range. Reasons for this decline are not well
understood but locally populations have been impacted by predation from introduced trout in
mountain lakes.
Habitat for this species includes open montane meadows, marshes, ponds, small bodies of water,
ephemeral pools, potholes without vegetation, and along small creeks (Blaustein et. al. 1995).
They are typically found at elevations above 2500 feet (Corkran and Thoms, 1996) and are
closely restricted to water (Stebbins 1966). Aquatic habitat suitable for Cascades frogs is absent
within the project area. No mapped or unmapped ponds, lakes, or marshes occur within the
project area. Almost all streams are characterized by steep gradients or, in low-gradient reaches,
the areas over the streams typically consist of dense canopy.
Surveys have not been conducted for Cascades Frog and there are no known locations in
the project area. The most common habitat types associated with Cascade frogs will not be
affected; therefore, there will be no effect to the Cascades Frog.
Blue-gray tail dropper (Prophysaon coeruleum)
Environmental Baseline
The blue-gray tail dropper is a forest-dwelling slug. Typical habitat for this species includes
moist, usually late-successional forests or mid-successional forests with late-successional
attributes, mosses and moist plant communities such as big-leaf maple or other hardwoods and
sword fern associations, partially decayed logs, leaf and needle litter (Burke et al. 2000, Duncan
et al. 2003). Its habitat has been described as “sites with relatively higher shade and moisture
levels than those of the general forest habitat” (Duncan et al. 2003). The blue-gray tail dropper
normally comes to the surface during the fall and spring rainy seasons. Otherwise, it is thought to
be subterranean.
The blue-gray tail dropper has been found at scattered sites in British Columbia, in western
Washington, and commonly in the Coast Range and into the Cascades of Oregon and
Washington. Pre-project surveys since establishment of the Record of Decision and Standards
and Guidelines for management of habitat for late successional and old-growth forest related
species within the range of the northern spotted owl (commonly known as the.Northwest Forest
Plan (NWFP)) has found wide distribution in Oregon (Burke et al. 2005). The occurrence of the
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