The tiny western toad continues to trip up Island County planners as they wrestle with how to protect the elusive species.

A “best available science review” released Thursday by The Watershed Company, a technical consulting firm, showed three primary Western Toad occurrence or breeding sites on Whidbey Island. However, much still remains unknown about the local population and distribution of the toad, the report said. Other states have noted dwindling populations of the western toad, which is listed by the state as a species of concern.

East of Crockett Lake, at a site known as Willow Pond, is one documented breeding site. The second mapped occurrence is in Deception Pass State Park and the third is near Greenbank, within an area designated as shoreline. Other observations have been reported in north Whidbey near Jones Road, the review states, while one Island County resident reported observing annual migrations of 100,000 toadlets near Greenbank.

Breeding habitat is already protected by the county’s existing wetland and wetland buffer protections, interim planning director Keith Higman told the committee. However, earlier this year the county was told its Growth Management Plan needed to further protect the species.

Additional protections were discussed for nearly two hours by the county planning commission. Any proposed development within 1,000 feet of the three designated areas would trigger a biological site assessment.

Whether the buffer zones were adequate and if they could be changed based on new information filled nearly two hours of discussion. Commissioners must now vote on the committee recommendation.

Native to Whidbey Island, the toad could be declining as it is in other states or it could be healthy. The report acknowledged the lack of scientific data and that the toad’s island migration patterns are unclear. The species use a variety of upland habitats but rely on open water for breeding and egg development.

Steve Erickson with Whidbey Environmental Action Network told the committee the Western toad is considered vulnerable “everywhere else,” and that the origin of the 1,000-feet buffer zone comes from heron rookery protections.