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KBS (Trail, British Columbia) 14 August 10 Big turnout to help toads
There was a huge turnout to help the toads this week.
The Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program say more than 600 people showed up from all over the West Kootenay and beyond to help the western toadlets safely across Highway 6 at Summit Lake, just south of Nakusp.
Organizers belive that 20-thousand toadlets were carried safely across the road.
The goal of the event, which was also supported by the Ministry of Environment, BC Parks, and BC Hydro, was to raise awareness of the importance of Summit Lake as a breeding site for western toads, and to save as many toadlets as possible from being squashed on the highway.
Western Toads are listed federally as a species of concern.
Big turnout to help toads

ARROW LAKES NEWS (British Columbia) 17 August 10 Who knew toads would attract so much attention? (Sam Smith)
There I was, driving down to Summit Lake Provincial Park for the toad capture and release event put on by the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Program.
I’m thinking it’s going to be a nice event with maybe 50 to 100 people tops.
There were a few cars ahead of me as I was driving down the road, so I figured, great, it’s attracting some attention. I can’t wait to get out there and snag some fun photos of little toadlets being captured and taken across the highway.
But then, something happened.
The highway was slowing down. A lot. Before I knew it, I was at a dead-stop in the middle of the highway with about five cars ahead of me all wanting to turn into the event as well.
A few cars ahead of me were allowed in, but unfortunately I had a man with a Scottish accent telling me, quite loudly, that I would have to park 500 metres down as there were no more spots. A “shuttle” would be around to transfer me back over for the toad event.
Not putting up a struggle, I nodded and was on my way down the road.
I found the area he was speaking about, almost at peak capacity already, but I secured one of the last parking spots, snagged my notepad and camera and stepped out into the warm sun. Not the best thing for a ginger, but hey, I had to champ it out. For the toads.
I got out the car and there was a jeep, a.k.a. the “shuttle,” already full up and ready to go.
Another truck quickly pulled up and started loading people to help take them over. I could have snagged the last spot, but there was an older lady who was waiting for a ride as well and I let her have it instead.
I then decided, “500 metres? NO PROBLEM.”
So I champed it out down the road. It really wasn’t that bad, but when I arrived on site, I could see this was far beyond the event I had envisioned. There were cars literally parked alongside the stretch of highway up and around the provincial park.
I saw people on the side of the road. Trying to guess how many had shown up, I figured it was in the 200-300 range. I heard another woman guess upwards of 1,000.
I personally wouldn’t put it there. I figured more around 400 people here ready to pick up some toadlets.
And did the kids love it? As soon as everyone’s hands were washed and people split into groups to go out and find their toadlets, there were plenty of happy smiles crawling into the woods to find these little guys.
Little kids were screaming in excitement as they spotted some and no one hesitated to snag them up with their hands and put them in a bucket.
“I got one!” a kid would yell. “Oh yeah? Well I got THREE.” “No way!” This was quickly followed by the sound of hands rummaging through the brush even faster.
The event started at 5 p.m. and at 6 p.m., the first crossing happened.
Kids, parents and teenagers all took across the highway and let their little friends off on the other side. The road had to be shut down for longer than expected just because of the sheer number of people but the happy faces were more than enough to make up for it.
Sure, there were complaints from a select few. Some expected big toads to capture (guess they didn’t read the articles) and some felt like there were too many people and too little toads.
Admittedly, it wasn’t a rainy day, so the toadlets were hard to find. Angus Glass, the organizer of the event, told me that it was great to see such a strong response. Although, he thinks next year they will be waiting for a rainy day to be forecast, then 48 hours in advance he will send out a mass email. This way, more toadlets will be available to help cross, which means more conservation, and more fun.
In the end, an estimated 20,000 toadlets were helped across the highway.
I ended the day with some great photos, some good notes and a nice, 500 metre walk back to my car. I could have waited for a shuttle over, but hey, I didn’t want to line up against hundreds of people.
Thanks for a great time!
Who knew toads would attract so much attention?