California Tiger Salamander & Red Legged Frog: Endangered Neighbors

Four painted utility boxes greet voyagers departing the northbound 680 highway at Bernal Avenue. To the right of the off-ramp stands four painted utility boxes reminding witnesses of the small animals in the Tri-Valley once the home of the indigenous Ohlone peoples. Water blue on the utility boxes offers evidence of the now disappeared habitat for frogs and salamanders.  A bold California red-legged frog entwined in tule reeds stares at rushing vehicles.  

In 2015, legislation designated California’s Red-legged Frog the “State Amphibian”. Today, it is on the endangered species list, threatened by invasive species and habitat loss. So too, are other mammals on adjoining panels. The famed frog of Mark Twain’s Short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” wonders about its continued survival.  California Tiger Salamander with yellow prominent spots seems shy but it’s on a stealth hunt for a large dragonfly. The salamander is also a vulnerable amphibian native to California.  With its wide mouth charmingly outlined, the tiger salamander looks like it is smiling. Sadly, it is not the case. The numbers of this beautiful amphibian are declining, and sightings are extremely rare due to the loss of vernal pools, grasslands, and oak woodlands.

Lush tule ponds once offered valuable tule reed building materials for the Ohlone peoples who inhabited this area.  Wander to Alviso Adobe Park on 3465 Old Foothill Rd, to view a hut made of tule reeds and ask questions of the well-informed docents to learn more.

The Civics Arts Commission under the “Project Paint Box” confirmed this eye-catching and environmental art. It was commissioned under the Public Art Acquisition Fund in 2016. The German artist Bianca Nandzik earned a Ph.D. in art education at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 2012. A passionate community artist she was the founder of San Francisco based “Cultivative,” empowering people to discover their potential through the arts. Bianca signed her work, “Entropy” which means gradual decline to uncertainty.                                 

 Jan Coleman-Knight