The imperiled Oregon spotted frog received a helping hand Thursday from nearly 30 students enrolled in the New Market Skills Center’s Environmental Explorations program.

The students converged in two shifts at a 10-acre wetlands near Salmon Creek, north of Littlerock to help kill reed canary grass, an invasive species that overwhelms frog habitat, and set traps in hopes of catching another enemy of the Oregon spotted frog – non-native bullfrogs.

The $8,000 habitat-restoration project is funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with support from the state Fish and Wildlife Department, Thurston County Stream Team, citizen volunteer Bonnie Blessing and property owner Tim Walker.

“This is a great opportunity for the students to see all these different partners working together to protect an endangered species,” said Craig Baker, the teacher who oversees the environmental program at New Market.

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