Fast Haul has been supporting the organization Save the Frogs for many years. The work they are doing is very important in my opinion and I’ve asked its founder, Dr. Kerry Kriger to give a brief overview of the organization and its goals so that I could add it to my Eco Blog.

Frogs need your help! Amphibian populations have been rapidly disappearing worldwide and nearly one-third of the world’s amphibian species are on the verge of extinction. Up to 200 species have completely disappeared since 1979. Frogs and other amphibians face an array of threats from climate change to habitat destruction; pesticide use; over-collection for frog legs and dissections; invasive species; and infectious diseases spread by human activity. Frogs eat mosquitoes, provide us with medical advances, serve as food for birds, fish, and monkeys, and their tadpoles filter our drinking water. Frogs are bio-indicators and used in medicinal research that benefits humans. Plus they look and sound cool, and kids love them!

Even though amphibians are going extinct at an incredibly alarming rate, you can help prevent this from happening! Slow down on wet nights, as this is when amphibians like to move from place to place. Never buy wild-caught amphibians as pets and do not eat frog legs. Every day decisions we make has some impact on the planet, so by using less, we gain more! We can take care of our planet by conserving our resources, eating locally grown, organic food and remembering to vote for the environment.  Most importantly, spread the word about what is happening to amphibians around the globe.

Founded in 2008, SAVE THE FROGS! is America’s first and only public charity dedicated to amphibian conservation. Our mission is to protect amphibian populations and to promote a society that respects and appreciates nature and wildlife. SAVE THE FROGS! translates science into action by leading the effort toward protecting amphibians across the globe. We work in California, across the USA and around the world to protect the rights of amphibians, including conserving critical amphibian habitat, banning harmful pesticides, and reducing the trade of amphibians for the pet and food trade. At the request of SAVE THE FROGS!, San Francisco’s Restaurant Gary Danko removed wild-caught Florida Pig Frogs from their menus, and we have gotten 10 California schools to stop dissecting frogs. SAVE THE FROGS! believes education and awareness is to key to solving this amphibian extinction crisis and we regularly give lectures on amphibian conservation.

Over the last year, through the San Francisco Tadpole Headstart Program, we have given over 25 free presentations on amphibian conservation to thousands of San Francisco students.We made Santa Cruz the first city and county in the nation to ban the importation, sale and purchase of non-native American Bullfrogs, which are voracious predators of our native wildlife, and we are working to shut down San Francisco’s Sharp Park Golf Course, which illegally kills endangered California Red-Legged Frogs each year when it pumps the Sharp Park Wetlands out to sea to provide dry land for golfers. We conceived and coordinate SAVE THE FROGS DAY the world’s largest day of amphibian education and conservation action. This year’s events take place April 28, 2012: please get involved! Please visit http://www.savethefrogs.com to learn more how about you can help save the frogs.