But as herpetologist Dan Holland stands in the dry creek bed one March afternoon, he sees something special. The sandy beaches are ideal for the toads' burrowing.
Vegetation is sparse, leaving wide-open spaces for insect catching.
This section of the creek has one of the world's densest remaining populations of the pale, small, portly toads. Last year, Holland and his colleagues found an average of 22 of the creatures along one half-mile stretch of the creek, gathered on banks and in shallows, the males whistling for mates on warm nights. And that makes this spot a good place to study the endangered animal. Such research could help scientists fully comprehend the reasons the arroyo toad is missing from 75 percent of its historic range. And the work could offer clues to help stem the worldwide decline of amphibians, the ongoing trend that first made headlines 10 years ago.