Columbus, Kan. ? A bridge project in Cherokee County has been put on hold to allow for a species of frog that is rare in Kansas to mate.

The spring peeper is common in the eastern United States but found in only three Kansas counties – Cherokee, Crawford and Bourbon – according to the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita.

Cherokee County project manager Leonard Vanatta told county commissioners Monday that the start of the bridge project will be delayed until after July 1 to avoid disrupting the frogs’ mating season.