A way to improve wetland habitat is to construct a seasonal ponds which will have water through July. A pond can be excavated in clay type soils and a good indicator for a site is the presence of wetland grasses and plants. Planting divisions or seeding emergent pond plants will speed the time for usefulness of a new pond. Sedges, rushes and other pond plants provide a place to attach the frog egg clusters. Cattails should not be introduced as they will dominate and reduce the diversity of wetland plants.A water depth of 12 to 36 inches over much of the area will favor a broad range of emergent plants. Some deeper holes may provide refuge for tadpoles as the pond warms and subsides in the summer. It may take two or three years for the pond to adequately vegetate to provide suitable habitat for Red-Legged Frogs. This small pond, about 3000sq.ft, had sixty five egg clusters one season. The 8 to 12 inch diameter clusters release and float to the surface during the final stage of development. The light colored gelatin like circles have many dark bean sized spots of developing embryo, which may produce 500 to 1000 tadpoles. For many years, this was the only lowland pond on the farm but as the many new ponds mature, the Red-Legged Frogs are beginning to spread. A source of running water is desirable for a quality pond, and fresh water enters this pond through a drainage tile and small spring.
