MEDIA RELEASE 7 August 2024

Pugh’s Frog (Philoria pughi) has recently been uplisted to nationally Endangered, with logging identified as a threat, leading the North East Forest Alliance to call upon the NSW and Commonwealth Environment Ministers to immediately change the logging rules to protect its habitat from logging.

Pugh's Frog (Credit Stephen Mahony)

Pugh’s Frog dig nests in soaks and seepages in the headwaters of streams on the Gibraltar Range and Timbarra Plateau, where they live a sedentary life, mostly within a hundred metres of their nests.

“The Philoria genus traces its lineage back over 50 million years to the Gondwana super continent, though a few million years ago they became increasingly marooned on isolated mountain tops, where they evolved into distinct species” NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.

“Due to climate change they are increasingly being restricted to higher altitudes, where the drought and fires of 2019 took a heavy toll. Pugh’s Frog was one of the worst affected species, with 85% of its habitat burnt, eliminating some populations and reducing many others to just one or two calling males.

“Pugh’s Frog was named in 2004 in recognition of my contributions to the protection of the habitat of the species.

“After millions of years of existence, Pugh’s Frog has now been identified at risk of extinction within 50 years. Unless urgent action is taken my namesake could be extinct in my children’s lifetimes.

“Logging is currently underway in habitat of Pugh’s Frog in Gibraltar Range and Ewingar State Forests under grossly inadequate logging rules developed 27 years ago, since then logging intensity has increased, exclusions around streams reduced, and populations have declined.

The NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee Advice (1) is ‘Timber harvesting directly impacts the species habitat and affects ecological and biological processes; and could lead to both direct and indirect impacts on Philoria pughi’.

“Aside from direct killing of frogs, logging their habitat will dry their soaks and seepages by opening the canopy and creating thirsty regrowth, thereby affecting their nesting ability and making their refuges more fire prone.

“As they are responsible for approving the logging rules, it would be negligent for the Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and the NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe to not improve protection for Pugh’s Frog in response to its uplisting to nationally Endangered.  

“The survival of Pugh’s Frog depends on protecting its moist refugia.

“If there is any intent to stop Pugh’s Frog becoming extinct it is essential that logging now be excluded from the catchments above their nesting areas” Mr. Pugh said.

• The NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee Advice (3/11/23) notes:

Timber harvesting continues in several areas where the species has been recorded including Gibraltar Range, Ewingar, and Billilimbra State Forests. Timber harvesting directly impacts the species habitat and affects ecological and biological processes; and could lead to both direct and indirect impacts on Philoria pughi. For example, loss of canopy trees would reduce the provision of leaf litter, lead to increases in soil and air temperature, and reductions in humidity. Changing vegetation cover (through felling trees) would alter local evapotranspiration rates, potentially leading to microclimatic and hydrological changes. Collectively, impacts of timber harvest/forestry in could impact the ability of soils to absorb and retain moisture. As noted above, frogs are particularly susceptible to environmental change. Given the species reliance on adequate moisture for reproduction, this could potentially impair successful breeding at a site. Heavy machinery used for forestry operations could also compact the soil, impeding on Philoria pughi behaviours (such as digging breeding chambers). Forestry impacts also are likely to interact with other known and projected threats, including fire intensity and severity, invasive species and climatic changes such as drought.

Habitat degradation and fragmentation continues across the species distribution due to ongoing timber harvesting, disturbances affecting hydrological processes, altered fire regimes, feral animals and weed invasion (Hines et al. 1999).