WHEREAS the American Bullfrog is an invasive non native species that poses a serious threat to British Columbias aquatic ecosystems and native species, including the provincially blue-list Red-legged frog and the nationally endangered Pacific Coast population of the Western Painted Turtle; AND WHEREAS American Bullfrog populations have invaded multiple jurisdictions on Vancouver Island, in the Lower Mainland, and in the Okanagan Valley and are rapidly increasing their range, and may compromise water quality in community water supply watersheds: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the provincial Ministry of Environment take a lead role in coordinating American Bullfrog management efforts throughout the Province and provide funding to assist municipalities and regional districts to protect native species and aquatic ecosystems from American Bullfrogs.
Ministry of Environment The Ministry of Environment recognizes the threats imposed by aquatic invasive species such as Green Frogs, Sliders, Smallmouth Bass and American Bullfrogs. However, research at the University of Victoria and evaluation by Ministry of Environment staff indicates Bullfrog impacts are often exaggerated in the media and non-scientific literature. To date, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that Bullfrogs pose a threat to water quality in community watersheds. Additionally, recent scientific research shows that ecological impacts thought to result from Bullfrog invasions are more often caused by concomitant habitat modification by human development. In BC, there are instances of long-term co-existence between introduced Bullfrogs and native Red-legged Frogs, especially in areas where the wetlands have not been modified, the riparian habitats are intact and there have been no non-native fish introductions. However, the threat posed by an introduced generalist predator such as the Bullfrog should not be ignored and needs to be monitored closely. The Ministry of Environment has played a strong role in developing a management response to the Bullfrog range expansion in BC, and has directly supported Bullfrog control projects in priority areas such as the isolated Bullfrog population in the Okanagan. Evaluation by ministry staff indicates that a province-wide Bullfrog eradication effort would be cost-prohibitive and likely unsuccessful based on the results of numerous Bullfrog eradication efforts around the world. The Ministry will work on containing the Bullfrog range and preventing further spread, and will continue to develop an adaptive management response to conserve native biodiversity even with the continued presence of Bullfrogs. Municipal staff are strongly encouraged to contact the provincial herpetologist or the aquatic invasive species coordinator for advice on developing strategies to manage Bullfrogs and other aquatic invasive species within local areas.