BASTROP COUNTY — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the sighting of a male Houston toad on private property in Bastrop County that had been restored through conservation efforts. This marks the first time a Houston toad has been spotted in restored habitat in more than 50 years.

The toad was found in habitat that had undergone active restoration, signaling a potential milestone for the species’ recovery. The site is one of three locations where biologists released approximately 170,000 Houston toad eggs in April 2026 as part of a targeted reintroduction strategy.

Conservation partners have spent more than two decades breeding Houston toads in captivity, producing more than 1 million captive-bred eggs each year for reintroduction into the wild. These efforts are part of a broader plan to reintroduce about 3 million Houston toad eggs into suitable habitats across their historical range.

The Houston toad exists only in Bastrop County, located about 100 miles northwest of Houston. The species was one of the first amphibians in the United States to receive federal endangered species protection. Its populations have declined significantly due to habitat loss, fragmentation, drought, and other environmental pressures.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Houston Zoo, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Dallas Zoo, the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, private landowners, and other conservation organizations to restore habitat and expand breeding opportunities. These collaborations aim to establish self-sustaining populations in areas where the toad had previously disappeared.

The reappearance of the Houston toad in restored habitat after half a century underscores the long-term commitment required for species recovery. The effort involves coordinated action among federal and state agencies, zoos, conservation groups, and private landowners, reflecting a model for collaborative wildlife restoration.

With only a single county still supporting the species in the wild, successful reintroduction could be critical to preventing extinction and eventually meeting federal delisting criteria that require thousands of acres of protected, connected forested habitat.