Natural Lands - The Magazine of Natural Lands Fall/Winter 2018, Issue 153 | Page 10

8 N ATUR A L L A NDS first year of life—quite high for tur- tles. Using those rates of reproduc- tion and survival, the researchers then estimated how a population would fare with various starting numbers of turtles. They found that a total population of about 40, with as few as 15 breeding females, had a more than 90 percent probability of persisting for 100 years provided they had access to one another for genetic diversity. Said Kevin Shoemaker, who led the study, “These very small units are very, very important for conser- vation. We don’t want to discount very small populations just because they’re so small.” So if the survival of bog turtles comes down to these small pockets of just a few individuals, protection of these locations is essential. And 95 percent of known bog turtle sites are owned by private landowners. Fortunately, the Natural Resourc- es Conservation Service (NRCS), administered by the US Department of Agriculture, offers incentives to private landowners, including farmers, to both protect and restore bog turtle habitat. Natural Lands has received more than $12,000 from NRCS to underwrite the cost of improving wetland areas on several of our preserves. “The program has been a real help for us, especially on the preserves that don’t have endowment to fund major work,” shares Gary Gimbert, Natural Lands’ regional director of land stewardship and restoration coordinator. “We’ve been able to concentrate efforts to remove red maple and other woody plants that create a canopy over the habitat. And the funding from NRCS has allowed us to have staff do the time-consuming task by hand since we can’t bring heavy equipment into the habitat.” For landowners who are perhaps not as motivated by conservation for conservation’s sake, the NRCS funding program can mean the difference between the land being saved or developed. NRCS pays farmers to put their land under ease- ment, which takes the properties out of agricultural production and prevents future development. They then work with the landowners to restore wetlands, paying for the cost of improvements including, in some cases, fencing so that cattle and goats can graze, which helps control invasives and keep woody plants and trees from growing. At one study site in upstate New York, researchers tracked bog tur- tles over the course of five years at a pasture routinely grazed by cattle. They found that the turtles virtually trailed the cows, following in their soggy hoof prints. When given the choice, nesting turtles selected the cattle-disturbed areas over wetlands that were off-limits to the cows. Herpetologists theorize that cattle are ecological replacements for large, wild herbivores that once grazed wetlands in eastern North America, like eastern wood bison and elk. This controlled grazing technique has been used in Delaware, Mary- land, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, too. Some landowners rely on cows, but others have used goats. In Delaware and New Jersey, bog turtles have made homes in the ponderous path of visiting water buffalo. Restoration grazing has even spawned niche entrepreneurial op- portunities for beef cattle and goat farmers, who have found a profitable way to fatten their livestock for market. The conservation efforts to protect one struggling species are proving to be a win all around. Good for livestock, good for farmers, good for bog turtles. And good for us humans, too. “Bog turtles are a flagship species for wetland conservation and water quality, and are a part of our rural and agricultural heritage,” said Lori Erb of MACHAC. “The streams and rivers that we utilize for drinking water and for recreation begin in headwater bog turtle wetlands. People from all walks of life, from trout fisherman to those that simply prefer drinking clean water, should be advocates for this species and efforts to save them.” W . WI NT ER 2 018 –2 019 9 needles in a haystack. The estimated number of remaining bog turtles ranges from 3,000 to 6,000. Part of the challenge in determining their numbers lies in how challenging they are to find and count. (Of course, their elusive habits may aid in their survival when it comes to poachers!) On a warm day in May, experts from MACHAC joined Natural Lands’ staff at one of our preserves to search the wetlands for these tiny turtles. Wearing waders and carrying long poles, the team worked its way through the mud, gently probing the ground with the poles and, at times, dropping to all fours to search for tunnels in the mud where bog turtles like to hide. If found, turtles are weighed, measured, and sometimes tagged or notched. They are then returned to the precise spot they were found. Surveying suspected bog turtle sites is a tedious and time-con- suming process that all too often results in only a few turtles, if any. But it’s an essential part of the conservation process. And a great excuse for adults to muck around in the mud! Bog turtles require open, sunny, spring-fed wetlands with scattered dry areas, and can be an indicator of water quality and wetland function.