The Northwest Territories (NWT) Species at Risk Committee (SARC) has reassessed the biological status of two amphibian species in the NWT. Northern leopard frog was assessed as Endangered and western toad was assessed as Threatened under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act.
SARC conducts detailed status assessments to determine if species are in danger of disappearing from the NWT. SARC previously assessed northern leopard frog and western toad in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The 2025 status assessments for the two species highlighted the small area of the NWT where these species occur and the sensitivity of these species to increasing threats from disease, habitat loss from drought and wildfire, and human disturbances such as hydro development and road mortality. On a global scale, 41% of amphibian species were listed as Threatened or Endangered in 2023 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Like most amphibians in the NWT, northern leopard frogs and western toads are at the northern limit of their range. Northern leopard frogs are uncommon in the NWT, and have only been found near the Slave, Taltson and Tethul rivers in the southern NWT. These frogs are part of a small population of northern leopard frogs that is isolated from other populations in North America.
In the NWT, western toads are only found in the Liard River basin of the Dehcho region. These toads are at the northern edge of a larger population.
A third amphibian species, Canadian toad, was also scheduled for assessment in 2025. However, all confirmed observations of Canadian toad occur within Wood Buffalo National Park. National Park lands are under the jurisdiction of the Government of Canada and, therefore, responsibility of the Canadian toad does not fall to the Conference of Management Authorities. As a result, Canadian toad was not assessed but will be reconsidered if there are observations outside of Wood Buffalo National Park.
Following the review of the status report and recent assessments of western toad and northern leopard frog, SARC has made several recommendations, including:
- Promote research, including documentation of Indigenous and community knowledge, to fill knowledge gaps on all aspects of amphibian breeding sites, population trends, habitat and threats. Although there was some new information available for this assessment, there are still large gaps in knowledge.
- Investigate Canadian toad occurrences beyond the boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park, along Highway 5 towards Fort Smith.
- Encourage continued implementation of best practices for studying/researching amphibians to avoid disease transmission.
- Implement and enforce protection for known breeding sites.
- Ensure that information and advice regarding important amphibian habitat is provided for consideration in the regulatory process, as appropriate.
- Continue to educate the public to raise awareness of amphibians, their habitat, and the threats they face.
- Encourage people to share observations of amphibians on iNaturalist.ca or report observations to WildlifeObs@gov.nt.ca.
SARC presented its assessments and recommendations to the Conference of Management Authorities (CMA) on May 21, 2025. The CMA will now engage with NWT communities and decide if northern leopard frog should be listed as Endangered on the NWT List of Species at Risk and whether western toad should continue to be listed as a Threatened species.
The full 2025 assessments with recommendations can be found here:
For more information contact:
Species at Risk Committee
PO Box 1320, Yellowknife, NT X1A 2L9
Email: SARA@gov.nt.ca
Toll-free: 1 (855) 783-4301