Suzanne L. Collins, CNAH
The Spring Peeper is a small (3/4 - 1 1/4 in.) chorus frog. The head, body and limbs are light brown in background color and the underside is yellowish. A characteristic dark x-shaped mark is evident on the back. Kansas is at the western edge of this frog's continental range. Its current probable distribution within the state is restricted to the eastern tier of counties. The Spring Peeper requires small ponds and wetlands having abundant emergent aquatic vegetation and located within or very near woodlands. This frog was formerly reported from Leavenworth County.
Spring Peepers are protected by the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act and administrative regulations applicable thereto. Any time an eligible project is proposed that will impact the species' preferred habitats within its probable range, the project sponsor must contact the Ecological Services Section, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, Kansas 67124-8174. Department personnel can then advise the project sponsor on permit requirements.DESIGNATED CRITICAL HABITATS
As defined by Kansas Administrative Regulations, critical habitats include those areas documented as currently supporting self-sustaining population(s) of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife as well as those areas determined by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to be essential for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife.
Currently, the following areas are designated critical for Spring Peepers:
All temporary and permanent wetlands within that portion of Cherokee, Crawford and Bourbon counties lying east and south of a line beginning at the Kansas-Oklahoma border(Sec. 18, T35S, R24E) extending north on Highway U.S. 69 to K-7, (Sec. 7, T33S, R24E, continue north on K-7 to the junction of K-7 and K-39 in Bourbon County (Sec. 17, T27S, R24E), continue west on K-39 to the junction of K-39 and K-3 in Bourbon County, (Sec. 2, T27S, R22E), continue north on K-3 until the junction of K-3 and U.S. 54 (Sec. 22, T25S, R22E), continue on U.S. 54 to the Kansas-Missouri border (Sec. 25, T25S, R25E).