LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — A wildlife refuge in southern Wyoming is expanding by 581 acres with help from The Nature Conservancy.

The Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Albany County is home to the endangered Wyoming toad.

In 2010, The Nature Conservancy purchased property next to the refuge with the intent of selling it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Conservancy says it then took care of the land until Fish and Wildlife recently secured funds to purchase the additional acres for the refuge.

This past May, representatives from the Conservancy and the Fish and Wildlife Service released nearly 1,200 captive-bred adult toads on the refuge to bolster the wild population.

The Wyoming toad was listed as a federally-endangered species in January 1984. The Refuge was formally established in 1993.

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