The Wyoming toad was discovered by Dr. George Baxter in 1946 and was originally known as Bufo hemiophrys baxteri until 1998 when it was given full species status as Bufo baxteri. The toad is thought to be a glacial relic always found only in the Laramie Basin. It was originally known from many breeding sites in the floodplains of the Big and Little Laramie Rivers. Later, after irrigation practices changed the nature of the floodpains, it was found along margins of ponds and small seepage lakes between 7,000 and 7,500 feet. Baxter and others monitored breeding sites for more than 30 years, with few toads seen or heard from 1975 to 1979. An extensive survey of the Laramie Basin in 1980 found only one population.
The Wyoming toad was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act on January 17, 1984, with a recovery plan approved in 1991. Currently the total population of the Wyoming toad includes approximately 200 animals in the captive breeding program and as few as 62 toads surviving at reintroduction sites in the Laramie Basin based upon fall 2000 survey data (after releases of more than 10,000 toads and tadpoles since 1995). Necessary conservation measures include improving reproduction and survival in the captive breeding program, improving survival at reintroduction sites, developing techniques to control the effects of the amphibian chytrid fungus, and eliminating threats and further habitat degradation in the wild.
