Distribution:
This frog is known from the Spring River and its tributaries in Cherokee County. An old record from Miami County (KU 9281, which is now lost) was taken near the Marais des Cygnes River at Osawatomie on 11 July 1911.
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Full range depicted by light shaded red area. Export Google Earth (.kml)

• Occurrence Summary:  
• 84
  Records 
• 40
  Museum Vouchers 
• 44
  Other Observations 

Some county occurrences indicated below may be too imprecise to map above.
County Breakdown: County Name (# occurrences):
Cherokee (83); Miami (1);

Fossil History:
Not known from Kansas.

Natural History:
Miller (1985) studied the Green Frog in Cherokee County, and much of the available information is based on his observations.
This frog generally prefers still water with lush aquatic vegetation and frequents the edges of swamps, marshes, ponds, ditches, strip pits, and backwater sloughs of streams and rivers. Smith (1932) first reported this species from Kansas, collecting three adults on 24- 27 March at night from permanent stripmine ponds in Cherokee County. Smith (1934, 1956) commented on the solitary habits of this creature and believed this frog to inhabit permanent pools and streams. Collins (1974, 1982) observed a Green Frog on 18 March in a backwater stream-slough of Shoal Creek in Cherokee County. This amphibian is probably active from early March to late October.
This frog normally breeds on warm nights from early April to late June. Smith (1932) observed a number of Green Frog tadpoles from 3 to 5 April in permanent stripmine ponds in Cherokee County. Rundquist and Collins (1977) reported this frog calling in the same county during April. Miller (1985) heard choruses of up to 12 individuals of this frog in Cherokee County and recorded them calling from 2 to 22 June at air temperatures between 68° and 85°F. Male Green Frogs are territorial during the breeding season and defend their territory from intruding frogs by kicking, bumping, and biting. The eggs hatch into tadpoles which metamorphose after approximately three months. Their summer breeding call sounds like the pluck of a loose banjo string and can be heard both day and night. They breed in permanent ponds and along streams with vegetated borders.
The adults eat invertebrates and occasionally small frogs and fish. Rather than chase their prey, they sit and eat whatever comes by. Smith (1934, 1956) reported this species feeding primarily on terrestrial insects.

Occurrence Activity:
Number of Unique Obervations (=days): 23; Range: 23 Feb to 27 Oct

Chorusing:

Audio recording by Keith Coleman.

Chorusing Phenology: The black outlined dots denote the Julian date (day of the year; 1 January = 1 to 31 December = 365) an observation was made. The thin red line depicts the range of dates between the beginning of the first, and end of the fourth quartile (excluding outliers; Tukey method). The thick light blue bar represents the second and third quartile (interquartile range; the middle 50% of all observations). Only one observation per Julian date is included in the graphs; so a date with multiple observations carries the same weight as a date with only one observation. The vertical bars correspond to the 12 months of the year; January through December.
Number of Unique Obervations: 38; Range: 03 Jun to 23 Jul; Interquartile range: 04 Jun to 22 Jul;

Remarks:
Smith (1932) first reported the Green Frog from abandoned strip pits 3-5 miles north of Baxter Springs near the Spring River. From the same locality, he also reported Eurycea spelaeus, Eurycea longicauda, and Lithobates palustris from Kansas for the first time. 
The oldest potential specimen (KU 9281) from Kansas was collected from the Marais des Cygnes River at Osawatomie on 11 July 1911. This specimen has been missing from the KU collection since September 1972 when it was put on loan to Coleman J. Goin. It is presumed lost. There have been no other collections of this species outside of Cherokee County. The next earliest series of specimens was near Riverton (KU 16205 collected on 26 March 1932, KU 17473-5 collected on 25 March 1933, KU 20388-94 collected in April 1932, and KU 23166-7 collected on 20 October 1945 have all been missing (and presumed lost) since September 1972 as well (Joseph T. Collins, pers. comm). The earliest existing specimen (KU 154015) was collected in a backwater of Shoal Creek at Schermerhorn Park, Cherokee County, on 3 March 1973.
Collins (1982) surveyed the Ozark Plateau for this species without success. He suggested at that time that this taxon be designated as state Endangered Species. Miller (1985) studied this frog in southeastern Kansas, and much of our current understanding is due to his efforts. He was able to document three additional localities for this frog in the Ozark Plateau of southeastern Cherokee County.
Efforts to corroborate the Miami County record were unsuccessful during this study, however, suitable habitat does exist along the Marais des Cygnes and many of its tributaries in eastern Kansas. Further support for the possible existence of a northern population is supported by specimens reported by (Daniel and Edmond, 2005) just to the east in Missouri.
This species can be found in the backwaters along the Spring River and Shoal Creek. In certain localities, it can be the second most observably abundant anuran (behind the Cricket Frog). An extensive survey along the Spring River and its tributaries (Turkey, Shoal, Brush, Shawnee, and Cow creeks) would certainly help to clarify its status in the state.
Listed as a Kansas Threatened species in 1987. No recovery plan has been completed. Platt et al. (1974) recommended that any breeding sites of this species on state, county, or federal property or on the property of willing landowners be designated sanctuaries and protected from disturbance. Collins (1980) noted the precarious status of the Green Frog in Kansas and recommended it be designated an endangered species in the state. Miller (1985) also recommended that this frog be designated an endangered species.
As defined by Kansas Administrative Regulations, critical habitats include those areas documented as currently supporting self-sustaining population(s) of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife as well as those areas determined by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism to be essential for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife.
Currently, the following areas are designated critical for Green Frogs:
(1) All waters and wetlands within or upon the main stem Spring River channel and adjacent floodplain from the river's point of entry into Cherokee County at Sec. 1, T33S, R25E, to its point of departure at Sec. 18, T35S, R25E.
(2) All waters and wetlands within or upon the main stem Shoal Creek Channel and adjacent floodplain from the creek's point of entry into Cherokee County at Sec. 36, T34S, R25E, to its confluence with Spring River at Sec. 19, T34S, R25E.