Searching for Amphibians in the Pacific Northwest

The direct route west navigates the vertical cliffs of the Columbia River at Vantage Washington, with these sculpted metal horses overlooking from the east.

Coming out of the scablands and climbing the arid eastern slopes of the Cascades in Yakima County, the land quickly changes from rounded grass-covered mountains to rocky and steep slopes of conifer forest and savanna.

The northern route across the Cascades takes you through Snoqualmie Pass, rainy even in July. Ensatinas, giant salamanders and tailed frogs are found on both sides of the crest near here, and the northernmost known locations for Plethodon larselli are nearby. This is essentially a suburb of Seattle, as well as site of a ski resort.

The first chance to find herps on the west slopes, between Mounts Adams, Rainier and Saint Helens! The environment is largely agricultural, but large stands of conifers here suggest salamander habitat. Aside from a snake which disappeared without so much as a good view of it, I find one of the many species of large land snails in the west.

A viewpoint north of Mount Saint Helens, an area home to several typical cold water amphibians. The viewpoint itself is on a mountainside with wet forest, and a nearby creek offers great potential, though no finds. The valley below is a major barrier to these animals, formed by the Cowlitz River.

The forest around the viewpoint has many plants in flower, among the most common being this species of Viola. Several yellow species occur in the Cascades.

In good habitat, amphibians are common. This western long-toed salamander was found minutes after arriving at the motel in Vancouver Washington. A strip of trees and a slow-flowing ditch between parking lot and interstate highway is a breeding site for Pacific chorus frogs and these long-toes.

This male chorus frog was calling at the edge of the ditch. Pacific chorus frogs are now suspected to be a species complex, but Vancouver is their type locality, so this will always be Pseudacris regilla, while those from east of the Cascades may become P.palouse.

The west coast is also home to a number of giant slugs, like this European black slug, Arion ater, found in a large stand of [introduced] blackberries. Our thanks to several people for correcting the identity of this species. A native giant is pictured on the Northern Rockies page.

A trip to the Little Nestucca and Grand Ronge drainages of the Oregon Coast Mountains was mandatory, since this is the only area where Columbia and southern torrent salamanders come into contact, sometimes within meters of each other. The first creek searched yielded only numerous colorful millipedes (Harpaphe haydeniana) and signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus. This is a widely eaten, introduced and farmed species, which becomes large. I found many smaller specimens in creeks all along the coast.

In 2004, a stroll along the same creek revealed two rough-skinned newt females (Taricha granulosa) strolling along the shore, though very few millipedes.

Along Squaw Creek, south of the Little Nestucca, salamanders were abundant, and the sibling species Plethodon dunni and P.vehiculum were sometimes found under the same cobbles along the creek edge, though I found no other species.

Several morphs of red-back were found here, including this typical red-striped form.

The yellow-striped morph, also from Squaw Creek. An all-yellow specimen was also found.

This is a view of typical habitat for stream amphibians in the Oregon Coast range, at Yoncalla Creek in the Grande Ronde drainage.

On the eastern slope, north of the Grand Ronde River, I searched along Agency, Yamhill and Boulder Creeks, each successively smaller and higher. A 7cm giant salamander larva was found in Agency Creek under a rock, but the best habitat was near the mouth of Boulder Creek, where several 4-5cm larvae of Dicamptodon tenebrosus were found under rocks in the flatter open area.

This tadpole of coastal tailed frog was one of two also found in the flats. An adult female was also found. Oregon populations need to be better studied to determine whether there is more than one western species, and if so, whether this might be Ascaphus truei, A.californicus or an unnamed species.

While the narrow, steep shaded parts of Boulder Creek yielded numerous juvenile Dunn's salamanders, no torrent salamanders were found. In the flats under a cobble, however, was this clutch of Columbia torrent salamander(Rhyacotriton kezeri) eggs. Few torrent salamander clutches have been recorded, mainly of this species. There are seven eggs, loosely attached to the underside of the cobble.

While most of the sites searched in July 2004 revealed nothing, this tiny Rhyacotriton kezeri turned up under gravel at a spring along Boulder Creek,though nothing else did. Chances are, more were hidden in the spring and within the gravel.

The upper, logged slopes of the Yoncalla drainage are well ground with herbs and shrubs. While I couldn't find clouded salamanders, the beautiful introduced Digitalis; Digitalis purpuraea, source of the heart medication digitalin, is common here.