A mural of Atelopus zeteki on the side of an EVACC Rescue Pod

Josh's Frogs awarded a 2025 Amphibian Conservation Grant to Panama-based nonprofit El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC) Foundation for their project Renovations and Lighting Additions to Rescue Pods. To learn more about this project, we did a virtual interview with Project Director Heidi Ross.

How specifically do you plan to use the grant money? We plan to use the grant to upgrade the lighting in our rearing and breeding rooms, especially by installing high-quality UV and full-spectrum fixtures. For many of Panama’s endangered amphibians, including Atelopus zeteki and A. varius, proper UV exposure plays a role in skin health, immunity, and normal development. These improvements will allow us to mimic natural conditions more accurately, which strengthens the overall husbandry foundation we rely on for successful breeding and long-term colony stability. Technology improves as time marches on and these upgrades are so crucial to more efficient energy consumption as well as the improvements to the frogs overall being.

What does winning this grant allow you to do that you might not have otherwise? This grant lets us move forward with an important husbandry upgrade that would have otherwise stayed on our long to-do list while we prioritized essential daily operations. As an exceedingly small, conservation-focused program, we constantly balance urgent needs with long-term improvements. This funding allows us to take a meaningful step forward right now, directly benefiting the animals in our care.

When do you expect to see results from this? What are you hoping they loo like? We expect to see changes quickly, especially in our developing larvae and growing juveniles. With improved lighting conditions, we are hoping to see stronger growth, healthier skin and coloration, improved immune response, and—over time—more consistent breeding activity in adults. All these positive shifts add up to what we want: stronger animals, better survivorship, and more reliable reproductive success across critically endangered species.

How will this project impact amphibian conservation? For us, better husbandry is conservation. Every improvement in survivorship, development, and breeding success strengthens the long-term health of our assurance colonies. This is especially important for the Panamanian golden frog, which is extinct in the wild and only successfully bred in Panama at EVACC. These lighting upgrades directly support the animals that will, one day, be part of recovery and reintroduction efforts once habitat conditions allow.

Atelopus zeteki, the Panamanian Golden Frog

What are the larger implications of your work? EVACC is a refuge for critically endangered frogs and is the only location in Panama where the extinct in the wild Panamanian Golden Frog is successfully bred, with hope for future release. They work to protect vulnerable species from extinction and conduct further research on species that have previously lacked data, thereby contributing to a global need for amphibian research, an understudied animal group.

What message or information would you like to share with the reptile and amphibian pet community? Like Josh’s Frogs, EVACC is a family-run operation whose mission is to protect Panama's native amphibians through assurance breeding operations and community conservation efforts. Their top-quality animal husbandry is critical to the success of their care of Panama’s endangered species.

How would someone make a donation to your organization? Donations can be made directly to EVACC through our website, and we are always happy to speak with anyone who wants to support a specific project or discuss partnership opportunities. Every contribution—big or small—helps keep critically endangered species alive.

Where could someone learn more about your project? People can learn more through our website and social media channels, where we share updates on breeding progress, conservation milestones, and community work. We are also grateful to have strong partnerships with zoos and conservation organizations that regularly highlight our efforts.

Anything else you want to share? EVACC is a small team with a big mission. For more than twenty years, Panama has been fighting to protect amphibians that were disappearing right before our eyes. Every clutch of eggs, every healthy metamorphic, and every new improvement brings us closer to seeing these species return to their native forests. Support from partners like Josh’s Frogs helps transform that hope into real progress.

Working inside a Rescue Pod