Conserving Maryland’s Threatened Bog Turtle

COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION CASE STUDY

Innovative partnership aims to bring about recovery of America's smallest turtle

Location: Northeastern/Mid-Atlantic

Project Summary: The Partnership is working with private farmers and landowners to help recover the threatened bog turtle.

Dave Putnam, USFWS

Resource Challenge

Bog turtles are disappearing because the land uses that once maintained their open wetland habitat are disappearing. Subdivisions, forest and invasive species are replacing the well-managed wetlands that were once the turtles’ homes.

The partnership among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Environmental Defense has set about finding ways to restore habitats that are necessary for the survival of key bog turtle populations in the state.

Examples of Key Partners

Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Defense, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Results and Accomplishments

Three important wetlands have been restored in 2005 and another three restorations are funded and will be implemented beginning in autumn 2005. Partners intend to keep expanding work and pushing to get enough funding and landowner involvement to achieve recovery goals in Maryland .

Innovation/Highlight

Farmers are working with agencies to find turtles and are carrying out monitoring of turtles by radio-tracking tagged animals themselves.

Project Contact

Tim Male
Senior Ecologist
Environmental Defense
1875 Connecticut Avenue
Washington, DC 20009
2023873500
tmale@ed.org

Maricela Constantino
Biologist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
177 Admiral Cochrane Drive
AnnapolisMD 21401
410-573-4542
Maricela_Constantino@fws.gov

Website: http://www.bogturtles.org

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