Schwalbe said that conservation efforts by a diverse group that has included ranchers, teachers, and schoolchildren have been important in maintaining the frog's gene pool while scientists continue to work with resource managers toward long-term conservation of this species, which has been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Profoundly altered since the arrival of modern civilization, portions of this harsh but fragile ecosystem may need centuries to recover. In an interview for a story in Forest Magazine, USGS scientist Mary Ann Madej spoke about long-term trends in river channel changes and the watershed restoration program in Redwood National and State Parks. Stream channels in the Redwood Creek watershed are slowly recovering from past episodes of severe sedimentation, but a flood in 1997 caused a small reversal in that trend. Watershed restoration efforts, especially removal of abandoned forest roads, have contributed to recovery in several salmon-bearing streams.
Pools are deeper and more frequent, and the quality of spawning gravels has improved.