Mr. Jim Small, property owner, Adam Zerrenner, Austin Field Supervisor, and David Wolf, Environmental Defense, who was instrumental in negotiating the Safe Harbor Agreement. Photo by Alisa Shull, USFWS

The Service entered into a Safe Harbor Agreement with Mr. Jim Small and Environmental Defense for conservation of the endangered Houston toad.  The Agreement was hand delivered by Adam Zerrenner, Austin Field Supervisor, to Mr. Small June 22, 2007.   The agreement includes approximately 836 acres of the privately-owned Small Ranch in Bastrop County, Texas.  The Small family agreed to conduct  habitat restoration activities to benefit the Houston toad, in conjunction with normal ranching practices, and the Service authorized incidental take of the toads if the property is returned to the agreed upon baseline conditions in the future.  Benefits to the Houston toad include the expansion and enhancement of foraging, breeding and hibernating habitat by reducing the density of woody understory species and facilitating the establishment and maintenance of native, herbaceous vegetation; collection of research data on the Houston toad, including the effects of prescribed fire of toad habitat, pre and post burn vegetation (species and cover) and pre and post burn toad response.