The Ney “Frog” Pond

The now-famous Ney Pond, widely recognized as the site of the discovery of deformed frogs in 1995, was originally “just a slough” when European settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. One can only imagine the plethera of wildlife that existed in and around the prairie pothole wetland when small scale farming began here. As agriculture expanded in the early 1900s, the pond was drained to make way for more cropland. Highly productive in drought years, less so in wet cycles, crop production at the site was inconsistent.

Ruby Ney’s vision of letting the land go back to nature was realized when she had the pond restored in 1989. Once again, the pond is host to a variety of waterfowl, and attracts mammals such as coyote, deer, raccoons, and fox. Of course, the pond is also host to numerous frog species. Deformities have declined to a near normal rate since the large populations of deformed frogs in 1995 and 1996. Ruby would likely be pleased to see that her vision has become reality at the Ney Pond!