Volunteer stream-keepers in West Vancouver are warning of a “nasty” invasive species that may cause local salmon to croak.
American bullfrogs and tadpoles have turned up in the ponds at the Capilano Golf and Country Club.
“The bullfrog eats anything that can fit in its mouth, feeding on aquatic insects, small fish (including juvenile coho and cutthroat trout), native frogs which are a fraction of the size of the American bullfrog, salamanders and snakes, even ducklings. In short, it is capable of inflicting devastating damage on native aquatic life,” stated John Barker, president of the West Vancouver Streamkeepers Society, in his email to members.
It is particularly troublesome for the off-channel rearing ponds Streamkeepers has built in Hay Park and Memorial Park on McDonald Creek. Volunteers built the rearing ponds to assist coho salmon fry, which take advantage of the hospitable habitat for a year before heading out to the ocean.
“Our concern is they could also be the ideal environment for the American bullfrog,” said Richard Ketchen, director with the society.
Those specific waterways aren’t connected to the golf course “but that doesn’t really matter,” Ketchen said. “From our understanding they spread quite readily.”
On Vancouver Island, bullfrogs were originally introduced in Victoria and now stretch as far north as Courtney and Campbell River.
Brad Burgart, general manager for the Capilano Golf and Country Club, said the club is now working with Streamkeepers, the District of West Vancouver and an environmental consultant “to help get a sense of how we can do our share to help contain it as much as we can.”
The environmental consultant is currently putting together a strategy to deal with the invasion. Capilano Golf and Country Club is scheduled to put the plan into action this fall.
“They really are a nasty frog for lack of a better term,” Burgart said. “We do want to be as environmentally responsible as possible.”
In the meantime, West Vancouver Streamkeepers is asking North Shore residents to keep watch for bullfrogs in their ponds and waterways. Anyone who spots the seafood-gobbling frogs is asked to email sightings to Ketchen at bullfrogalert@gmail.com. The province asks residents to report bullfrogs online at env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch/.
Most importantly, if you do come by bullfrogs, leave the invasive amphibians where they are and don’t move the tadpoles, as kids are sometimes known to do, Ketchen said.
