North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) anuran detection data from the eastern and central United States (1994-2015)

The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) was a collaborative citizen science effort between the US Geological Survey (USGS) and 26 Partners (state agencies, universities, and nonprofits) for monitoring calling amphibian populations over much of the eastern and central United States. Initiated in 1997 in response to needs set forth by the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force in 1994 regarding increased anecdotal observations of global amphibian declines, NAAMP was designed to provide scientifically and statistically defensible, long-term distribution and trends data for calling amphibian populations at the state and regional level in the United States. The USGS discontinued coordination of the program at the conclusion of the 2015 field season. Modeled after the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, NAAMP used a network of random and state-requested non-random roadside routes with listening stops near wetlands to collect frog and toad occupancy and environmental data in predominantly unprotected lands. Data collection and verification under a unified protocol began in 2001 and continued through 2015 with the addition of observer assessment scores in 2006. The USGS utilized verified 2001-2015 data from random routes to produce occupancy trend reports for anuran species of the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions and states of the United States. This dataset includes all raw, verified NAAMP data from 1997 through 2015 and also raw, verified data from Partner States that precede the program (1994-1996). Data preceding 2001 followed variations of the unified protocol. Please refer to metadata for additional information regarding protocol and a list of the represented states.