Animal activists say non-native amphibians should not be killed, but city says its hands are tied by federal protection of competing Red-legged Frog

The group says it disapproves of using public money to remove the creatures from the ponds.

But the city says the bullfrogs aren?t native to the area and have to be removed in order to protect the California Red-legged Frog, a federally listed endangered species.

The dispute entered the City Council chambers last week following a presentation on maintenance work at the wetlands ponds.

Margaret Orr, the project manager for the Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility, said the city?s permits from federal and state agencies require that the Red-legged Frog be protected.

That means taking steps to control the competing bullfrog population, draining the ponds and using nets to scoop up egg masses and tadpoles, she told the council.

?It?s a pretty massive infestation if it?s allowed to take off,? Orr said of the bullfrogs. ?What we?re doing is breaking the reproductive cycle by getting the tadpoles out.?

The cost totals $9,500 for two days and nights of work by biologists, Orr said.

That figure irks some animal lovers, who say the city can find better ways to spend the money than killing off the frogs.

?We do not want to pay to have animals killed,? Diane Reilly Torres wrote in an e-mail to city officials before last week?s meeting.

Pat Boyd spoke to the council at the Nov. 2 meeting and said the city should urge the California Department of Fish & Game to do more to stop the importation of bullfrogs and other non-natives into the state.

?Bullfrogs and turtles are being illegally introduced and released into California waters ? infiltrating our rivers, wetlands and creeks, and creating the risk of damage to native wildlife populations and endangered species such as the California Red-legged Frog,? Boyd said.

Red-legged Frogs haven?t been found on the plant property, but have been spotted along Ellis Creek across Lakeville Highway from the plant, Orr said. The ponds provide ideal habitat for those frogs, but not if bullfrogs overrun the area, she said.

?If we didn?t contain the bullfrog, it could fill this whole area,? Orr said. ?This kind of program doesn?t remove the bullfrog completely; it just controls it so that the Red-legged Frog has a chance to maintain its habitat.?

The city?s consulting biologist, Jim O?Toole of the firm ESA, said failure to remove the bullfrogs and their eggs would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act and could result in a fine or possible shutdown of the sewer plant.

?The Endangered Species Act and the Fish and Wildlife Service are trying to not only hold the line for these species, but also facilitate their recovery,? O?Toole said.

Bullfrog-removal programs are ongoing in other parts of the county and the Bay Area where habitat for the Red-legged Frog is found, O?Toole said.

?This isn?t a specific city of Petaluma measure that?s been identified by the Fish and Wildlife Service, but rather part of an overall strategy for recovery of the species,? he said.

(Contact Corey Young at corey.young@arguscourier.com)