Time Ticks Down to Save the Littlejohn's Tree Frog

The proposed substation is set to clear woodland and waterways of the Watagans; a stronghold for this frog.

Conservation organisation Aussie Ark is issuing an urgent appeal for the public to join the protest against the construction of Energy Co’s substation…before it is too late. If the proposal is approved, the substation will be constructed right in the heart of the Watagans; one of only three locations where the endangered Littlejohn’s Tree Frog is found in the wild and a key breeding site.

The Development Application is before the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, within the portfolio of State Minister for Planning & Public Spaces Paul Scully. Once MP Scully makes the decision, it is final and irreversible, marking a decisive moment for one of Australia’s most vulnerable and iconic amphibians.
Aussie Ark - backed by a coalition of eminent University of Newcastle scientists, conservationists and community members - have spent months advocating for the frog and appealing for the substation to be constructed at one of nine alternative locations identified by EnergyCo. While these options may involve additional financial cost, conservationists argue that the loss of a nationally significant endangered species would be irreversible.
Aussie Ark Chief Conservation Officer Hayley Shute says “extinction is permanent, financial cost is not.”
Ms Shute is passionate about the Littlejohn’s Tree Frog and leads Aussie Ark’s breeding and re-wilding program for the species, in partnership with the University of Newcastle Centre for Conservation Science. This program is a nation-first, and since its inception last year involving 29 founding adults, the conservation organisation has made headlines with first-ever successful breeding including world-first crossbreeding of frogs from two otherwise fragmented populations; a nationally significant milestone towards genetic rescue of the species. Over 700 eggs have been laid, and dozens of tadpoles now fill specialised aquaria in the Conservation Ark facility in Somersby NSW.
“This creates a devastating question,” Ms Shute said. “What happens when you successfully breed an endangered species, but the wild home they rely on may no longer be there? We are now in the heartbreaking position of having bred hundreds of tadpoles for conservation, but we may not have a safe wild home to release them into.”
“This is exactly why habitat protection matters,” Ms Shute continued. “Captive breeding buys time. But these frogs need more than tanks, human care, and breeding success. They need forests. They need clean waterways. They need the Watagans.”
Aussie Ark appeals for Australians who care about protecting wildlife to contact the NSW Minister for Planning & Public Spaces, Paul Scully, and ask that the Hunter Transmission Project Development Application is declined in its current form until the substation can be relocated away from this critical habitat.
A public action page has been established where supporters can send a message to the Minister in support of protecting the Littlejohn’s Tree Frog here: https://bit.ly/SaveLittlejohnsTreeFrog