Electric Co-op Today

Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, county and state agencies and private contractors were ordered in mid-January to suspend wildfire projects and other work so experts could determine whether endangered Houston toads were in the mood to reproduce.

The impending breeding cycle of endangered Houston toads temporarily delayed wildfire cleanup and service reconnection work for Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative. (Photo By: Clifton Ladd/Loomis Partners, Inc.)

“A federal regional environmental officer told us to stop working while they did an environmental impact assessment,” said Will Holford, manager of public affairs for the Bastrop-based co-op.

Central Texas has suffered two major droughts since 2007, and dry conditions contributed to a massive wildfire last September that destroyed 1,600 homes and scorched 34,000 acres.

On the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list since 1970, the estimated 3,000 Houston toads living in Bastrop County retreated underground, and hibernated through early winter. But a little rainfall, coupled with warmer daytime temperatures, have roused them from their burrows.

“That’s their cue that it’s breeding season,” said Michael Forstner, a professor of biology from Texas State University in San Marcos, during an environmental meeting in Austin, Jan. 10.

“The ones that survived have emerged to the surface,” Forstner said. “The males then begin their unique call. Then the girls show up and they head to the ponds.”

Experts say the 2- to 3.5-inch-long amphibians only require calm shallow water, lasting at least 30 days and located no more than three-quarters of a mile from their hibernation sites for successful reproduction.

That means nearly every shallow pool, flooded field, temporary wetland or roadside ditch in the county was covered by the stop work order.

“Work like picking up debris with machinery and sawing down trees would hurt the toad,” Mike Fisher, Bastrop County emergency management director, told reporters.

While the breeding frenzy hasn’t started yet, co-op crews, contractors, and landowners will be keeping their eyes and ears open for the sights and sounds of courtship.

“We’re all in agreement where work can be performed and not performed,” Fisher said.

Bluebonnet EC has service connections pending for consumer-members anxious to rebuild, and the co-op is working with landowners to remove tens of thousands of dead or dying trees outside, but adjacent to, the co-op’s easements.

“Tree experts have certified that they have a 70 percent chance of toppling and pose a hazard to our power lines,” Holford said. “We have years of experience working in the Houston toad habitat and we’re committed to protecting it. We have a habitat conservation plan in place and we follow best management practices outlined in our plan.”

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Tags: Endangered Species Act, Environmental Stewardship, Power Outages, Weather Effects