Press Coverage

Newspaper Coverage

1. “Bullfrogs Invading Coombs Area” - Parksville Qualicum News, November 1, 1990 (front page)
2. “Invasion Of The Bullfrogs” - Victoria Times Colonist, July 12, 2004 (p. B1, B2)
3. “Assault Planned On Voracious Bullfrogs” - Victoria Times Colonist, November 24, 2004 (A1,A2)
4. “B.C. Plans Military-Style Fight Against American Bullfrog Involving Electroshock, Freezing: A City Of Bullfrogs” - National Post, November 24, 2004 (A8)
5. “Island Gearing Up To Fight Off Spring Onslaught Of Bullfrogs” - The Province, November 24, 2004 (A4)
6. “Waterfowl Beware: Hungry Killer Bullfrogs Are On The Loose in B.C.” - The Globe and Mail, November 27, 2004 (A3)
7. “War On Bullfrogs Will Be A Long One” - Victoria Times Colonist, November 29, 2004 (lead editorial, p. A6)
8. “Invasive Bullfrogs Pose Risk To Water Supply, Expert Says” - Times Colonist, February 17, 2005 (B2)
9. “The Frog Hunter” - Weekend Edition (Victoria), February 18, 2005 (A1, A12)
10. “Scientist Prepares To Outsmart Bullfrogs - Goldstream News, February 23, 2005 (A6)
11. “Bullfrogs Sing While Ravaging Waterways” - Goldstream News, March 9, 2005 (A6)
12. “Bullfrog Plan Has Merit” - Goldstream News, March 30, 2005 (A10: Letters)
13. “Funding Comes Through For Frog Eradication Effort” - Times Colonist, April 7, 2005
14. “Funds Still Needed To Combat Frogs” - Times Colonist, April 12, 2005 (A11: Letters)
15. “Bullfrog Bureacracy” - Victoria News, September 30, 2005 (A5)
16. “Swift Action Urged Against Invasive Bullfrogs” - Times Colonist, April 19, 2006 (B2)
17. “CRD Aims to Start Frog Eradication Soon” - Times Colonist, May 12, 2006 (B2)
18. “Invasive bullfrog spreads fatal disease” - Times Colonist, June 14, 2006
19. Editorial Page Cartoon - Times Colonist, June 15, 2006
20. “Bullfrog biologist Stan Orchard needs provincial and regional funding to continue eradicating ravenous American bullfrogs and green frogs who’ve invaded many Cowichan waterways, including Somenos Lake” - News Leader, August 11, 2007
21. “Bullfrog funding squished DEAD” - Goldstream Gazette News, August 10, 2007
22. “Langford keeps bullfrog program afloat: Biologist hopes to keep invasive species in check” - Times-Colonist, August 13, 2007
23. “Annoying, disgusting American bullfrogs ‘taking over’ marsh” - Vancouver Sun, July 21, 2007
24. “Fast-breeding bullfrog shows up in Vancouver suburb” - CBC News, March 27, 2008

“Bullfrog Bureacracy”
By JenniferMCLARTYBlack Press (Victoria)
Sep 30 2005

Garbrielle Goudy’s backyard pond used to come alive with chirping frogs every spring. But today the picturesque pool - perched high above Florence Lake in Langford - is eerily silent.

American bullfrogs have invaded, and they’ve wiped out the property’s indigenous amphibians. “They are horrible, horrible things,” said Goudy, watching dozens of golf ball-sized tadpoles whiz below the water’s surface. “We used to swim in here. But not anymore. Their soft bodies would bump against our legs. Ughh, it’s just awful.

Hoping to reclaim her beloved swimming hole, Goudy contacted Victoria biologist Stan Orchard last February after learning of his plan to eradicate the invasive species. Introduced by would-be frog leg farmers in the mid-1930s, the population of dinner plate-sized croakers has spread from the Peninsula and now threatens to reach the region’s drinking water supply at Sooke Lake.

Orchard was prepared to launch his military-style offensive in April, but the project has been stalled for months due to a labyrinth of Ministry of Environment regulations under the B.C. Wildlife Act. “The whole active season has been wasted waiting for one permit to deal with a species the province itself has labeled a threat,” said Orchard. “Every year we lose is a setback. You get another generation, and they keep colonizing new ponds and lakes. Right now Langford Lake is the vanguard, but that could change.

Under Orchard’s plan, a roughly 10-kilometre control corridor or “front line” would be established between Finlayson Arm on Saanich Inlet and Esquimalt Lagoon. Teams outfitted with electroshock backpacks would methodically blanket the area, stunning the wary croakers with two-metre prods, then freezing them. The carcasses would be composted. Traps would also be set for adult males and females, as well as thousands of hardy tadpoles that cram the shorelines of infected lakes

Orchard applied for the necessary provincial permits in March, but didn’t receive the paperwork he needed until September - the same month bullfrogs go undercover, burying themselves in lake bottoms for the winter. “There was a tremendous lag of time,” he said, adding the long wait was exacerbated by a revision to Workers Compensation Board regulations dictating the use of electro-shock packs.

Not only does Orchard have to be certified, he’s now required to have a full-time assistant with the same level of training. “This has been bureaucracy at its finest. Apparently the powers that be assume the bullfrogs won’t move until they get a permit.

Funding shortfalls have also plagued the project, leaving Orchard scrambling for equipment and manpower. He’s 30 per cent short of an ideal budget, despite contributions from the Viens of Life Society and about $15,000 from the Capital Regional District. “Funding fell through or came late. I just couldn’t afford an electro-shocker this summer, and I couldn’t afford to hire someone,” said Orchard. “But I have managed to set up a small office, develop a vacuum to capture egg masses and modify a set of freezers that will be used to euthanize the stunned specimens. “I’ll be ready to go first-thing in April when the active season starts again.

Tom Ethier, manager of legislation and regulation with the B.C. Fisheries and Wildlife Branch, blamed the lengthy permitting process on the complexity of Orchard’s project. He says government biologists had to vet the potential effects of electro-shocking on native amphibians and fish, as well as how Orchard would transfer his zapped specimens to prevent an escape. “We support his initiative here, but because of its complexity, it fell under several sections of the Act, which took more time,” said Ethier. “The four months that we looked at this was longer than we would have liked.

To make amends, the Ministry of Environment has issued a five-year permit to Orchard, and waived the annual $110 fee. “We wish Stan well with his work, and we hope he doesn’t have to deal with us again,” said Ethier

For Goudy, the eradication effort can’t begin soon enough. “It’s just black with tadpoles in the early summer when they’re waking up and getting active again,” she said, adding she’s even seen full-grown adults snap at preening birds and drown them. “I look forward to the day I get my pond back.”