Latest news with #Blanding's
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Wild Turtle Week offers education, ideas to protect Iowa's native species
Blanding's turtle is a threatened species in Iowa. (Photo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) Iowa is home to 13 wild turtle species, nearly all of which are in need of conservation action, or are endangered due to a loss of habitat and road-related mortalities, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Iowans can learn about these turtles and how to help conserve the aquatic and semi-aquatic reptiles during Wild Turtle Week, June 9-13. The eastern spiny softshell turtle, which is found throughout Iowa and the central portion of the country, lives mostly in the water and utilizes a method of absorbing oxygen through their skin and throat that is sometimes called 'butt breathing' according to Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, or PARC. Per their name, the turtles do not have a hard shell and rely on their speed for protection. PARC suggests leaving these long-necked and snouted turtles alone if spotted out of the water, as they might be laying eggs. Snapping turtles are also easily recognizable by their long spiny tails, shells and big, sharp beaks. Certain species of snapping turtle are listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service which identified habitat loss, commercial and recreational fishing and nest predation as factors contributing to the population decline. Wood turtles and yellow mud turtles are both listed as endangered in Iowa due to habitat loss and water pollution. Ornate box turtles, and eastern musk turtles are listed as threatened, along with the Blanding's turtle. DNR partnered with Blank Park Zoo and Iowa State University to raise and release nearly 60 Blanding's turtles back into the Iowa landscape. The group released the turtles into the wild June 4. According to U.S. FWS, these turtles can live for up to 70 years and often travel great distances, which exposes them to dangerous road crossings. The western painted turtle, found across the state, is known for its bright red, yellow and black colored undersides. This small turtle, along with the red-eared slider, are two turtles that DNR said are not in need of conservation action. Iowans can help turtles by avoiding them in roadways, and when possible, stopping to help move them across the roads. DNR said to always move turtles the same direction they were headed when helping them across a street. It's also important to never pick up a turtle by its tail, as this can damage the reptile's spine. A press release from DNR said wetland, grassland and forest preservation can also help to save turtle habitat in Iowa. Iowans with a keen eye for turtle identification can submit their observations online to Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa, which charts species populations across the state. The website also has valuable photos and information to help identify turtle varieties. PARC encourages folks across country to celebrate wild turtle week by sharing their turtle photos on social media with #ShellebrateTurtles. The organization also has webinars and other online resources with lots of turtle facts. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
56 Threatened Turtles Born at Iowa Zoo Released Into the Wild
Dozens of Blanding's turtles were released back into their natural wetland habitat on June 4 Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Blank Park Zoo, and Iowa State University joined forces to raise the turtles that are considered a threatened species The year-old turtles were released with tiny transmitters allowing their movements to be tracked for the next two monthsA group of year-old Blanding's turtles were released from the Blank Park Zoo and placed in their natural habitat. Blanding's turtles are a threatened species, and as part of a partnering project between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Blank Park Zoo, and Iowa State University, the agencies worked together to help the population. "Blanding's turtles are so cool, they've got this bright yellow chin, and they kind of look like an army helmet with this dome shape of their shell," Dr. Karen Kinkead, wildlife diversity program coordinator for the Iowa DNR, told WHO Des Moines. The turtles' parents are native to the Iowa wetlands. Now that their babies are one year old, they were released into a marsh in Guthrie County with tiny transmitters to track their movements and gather data. 'You definitely want to be putting them into a good Blanding's turtle habitat where they're gonna be able to thrive, so that's pretty much made up of wetlands,' Elizabeth Lang, a research associate at Iowa State University, told Iowa Local 5 News. WHO Des Moines reports that Lang will spend her summer in the marsh tracking the turtles and monitoring their whereabouts. Over the winter, the baby turtles made the Blank Park Zoo their home. "The zoo's kept them over the winter for us, and they've kept them awake instead of allowing them to go to sleep for the winter," Kinkead told KCCI News. "So they've grown bigger than they would in the wild. Because they're bigger, it will be harder for some of their natural predators to swallow them whole." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Kinead said she has concerns about the Blanding's turtle release: "I'm definitely a bit nervous. I hope that they do really well out there." "To my knowledge, this is the first opportunity we've had to track the juveniles," Kinkead told WHO Des Moines. "And we suspect that the juveniles are not using the habitat the same way as the adults do because we just don't find them the way we do adults." Kinkead said she believes the young turtles spend more time in the water than the adults. The turtle's transmitters will last two months, allowing Lang and partnering technicians to track how the turtles spend their summer. WHO Des Moines reports that the Blanding's turtle was placed on a threatened species list due to complications in successful nesting and habitat loss. DNR is working to rebuild the Blanding's turtle population following a late winter storm that devastated the species 10 years ago. Read the original article on People
CBC
10-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Northern Ontario environmentalists recognized for fighting a gravel quarry that could threaten turtle habitat
An environmental organization called the Wilderness Committee has recognized three environmental activists from the north shore of Lake Huron, west of Sudbury, for their opposition to a proposed quarry in the area. Rhonda Kirby, Tom Kirby and Jenifer Brousseau each received the Eugene Rogers Environmental Award for their fight against a proposed quarry from Darien Aggregates, which they say infringes on the habitat of Blanding's turtles. Blanding's turtles, which have a bright yellow throat and chin, are recognized as a threatened species in Ontario, and are protected under the Endangered Species Act. "It is illegal, against the law to harm or disturb either the individuals of the species or their critical habitat," said Katie Krelove, the Wilderness Committee's Ontario campaigner. A 2019 study from Laurentian University researchers determined that the area for the proposed quarry, located outside Blind River, along the edge of Lauzon Lake, had among the "highest reported densities for the species" in Ontario. During their field research, scientists found 56 Blanding's turtles in the area, for a density of 1.8 turtles per hectare. "We identified 15 nesting sites and 12 wetlands that housed overwintering turtles, both considered by government to be critical habitats with lowest tolerance to destruction," the study said. Rhonda Kirby said she was first made aware of the proposed quarry in 2016, when she noticed a lot of engineering trucks in the area, not far from her property. "The more we learned, the more alarmed we became at the magnitude of the project," she said. Since that time, she and her husband Tom have been trying to stop development at the site, working with an organization called the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition, which has pushed for a moratorium on new quarries across Ontario. But Kirby has called the fight to stop the quarry a "lopsided process," and believes it will eventually be built. "I look at it in terms of we may have lost the battle, but it's all part of the bigger picture of the war," she said. Jenifer Brousseau, from nearby Serpent River First Nation, joined the battle against the proposed quarry more recently. "It was just kind of a no-brainer to get involved in this, especially when I went up to the site to see where this quarry is going," she said. Brousseau hosts a show on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) called Wild Archeology, and is working on a documentary about Darien Aggregates' proposed quarry, and about two brothers from her community who are fighting it. Brousseau argues that there are already enough gravel pits in the province to meet current needs, without having to develop other areas. According to the Ontario Aggregate Resources Corporation, in 2019, there were 3,164 licences for gravel pits and quarries on private land in the province. There were an additional 2,491 aggregate permits on Crown land that year. "If you look at a map at what that looks like, you can't even connect the dots because the dots are so close," Brousseau said. Limited gravel supply? Heather Melcher is the vice-president of environmental permitting and planning for an engineering firm called Consor, which works with aggregate producers in Ontario. Melcher refers to a 2024 study from Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources which shows a decline of licensed gravel reserves located close to the Toronto area, where the need for aggregate is the greatest. "Not all aggregate is created equal," Melcher said. "There are different qualities of aggregate needed for different types of development. And close-to-market, high quality sources of aggregate are really drying up." In an email to CBC News, Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said it has advised Darien Aggregates that the company needs to plan its proposed quarry to "avoid impacts on species at risk and their habitat, or to seek authorization under the Endangered Species Act." Melcher said there are several steps an aggregate producer can take to adhere to the law. One is to see if they can change the footprint of a proposed pit or quarry so it doesn't directly affect a species' habitat. "If it's still determined that there is going to be an impact to the species or its habitat, then it moves directly into what we call an overall benefit permit," Melcher said. Under the Aggregate Resources Act, Melcher said producers are required to have a rehabilitation plan in place to return the site to its original state after the quarry has reached its end of its life. Melcher said it's rare that a project is cancelled altogether.
