We believe education and acknowledgement are crucial to conservation. This Podcast is one of the ways we are contributing.
There are interesting animals all around us… let’s talk about one.
They may be North America’s tiniest turtle but the make a big impact on their environment. That’s right… bog turtles.
Bog turtles live in one of the rarest habitats in the world, mountain bogs. Which are disappearing quickly. How can we help these little guys? What can be done for their environment?
History and Environment:
These tiny turtles have had a rough history that mostly involves their decline. But I don’t want to talk about the human’s history with the bog turtle, I’ll get to that later. So instead I’m going to talk about the cool things in their history because these turtles are actually a lot cooler than you would think. They used to be wanderers back in the days of old. Traveling from wet spot to wet spot forever running from the growing grasses and ever thickening brush. They actually followed canopy as it opened and closed which would create these damp spots similar to what they live in today. Eventually as the forest settled so did the turtles into what we know their home to be today. The mountain bogs, or highland bogs, of the Appalachian Mountains. But did you know these bog turtles go wayyyyy back? In 1998 fossils were found of a bog turtle that can be dated back 300,000 years and another that could possibly be as old as 1.8 million years. Now obviously these aren’t the exact same turtle we know today but it’s cool to see just how long they were around before we came along.
Mountain bogs are home to green pitcher plants, mountain pitcher plants, swamp pinks, and bunched arrowheads. These plants are found in the habitat of bog turtles, and in the case of the pitcher plants are ONLY found in the mountain bogs. Mountain bogs are also key habitats for migratory birds such as woodcocks, grouse, turkeys, and wood ducks. Many salamanders are also found in mountain bogs. Mountain bogs help to regulate water flow. They soak up excess water preventing flooding and release water into streams during times of less rain. This helps maintain the water table throughout all seasons. Without this water regulation other habitats could begin to disappear or change causing further disruption of other critters.
Current Status:
Much of this was discussed in last weeks blog so I will not rehash it all. Let me just hit the highlights and if you missed it go back to last weeks blog for a deeper dive. The Nature Conservancy is doing the bulk of the work for conservation and restoration. The majority of their work is in the northern bog turtle’s homes, in Mass and PA. Some work is being done in the Appalachian Highlands area but more needs to be done. Less than 10,000 turtles remain and poachers could knock that number down very quickly. Let’s all do what we can to not loose these little guys and their habitat.
And Then Humans:
Now I know there wasn’t much to the history portion but that’s because a most of their history involves us. I mentioned earlier that they have had a rough history, but what exactly makes it so rough? Well as we like to say here at Animals of Appalachia… and then humans. The bog turtle was first found by humans in 1801 during a land survey in Pennsylvania. Ever since then it has been a steady decline of both population and environment for the bog turtle. As more humans moved into the Appalachian region they began redirecting the water ways that were feeding the Mountain Bogs the Bog turtles call home. This lead to the bogs drying up and forcing the Turtles to move toward smaller and smaller spaces. This is what led to the divide of the Northern and Southern Bog turtles. On top of the environmental destruction Bog turtles also have to worry about poachers. Poachers can steal whole populations overnight which is an obvious detriment to the population as a whole. With these two factors in mind it’s not hard to see why they were declared critically endangered by 1997.
Oops! I Can Fix That!
Well the good news is there are already so many different ways we are helping these cute little guys. I can name at least six states including our home state of Tennessee that have active conservation efforts working towards restoring and preserving not only the Bog turtle but the bogs they call home as well. Not to mention the multiple national and international organizations such as the Nature Conservancy that are also contributing to the turtles restoration and conservation. With all of this effort combined together I believe not only can we fix it, we can erase our mark on this poor turtle completely.
Sum It Up Buttercup
In short bog turtles have been around for a long time and we want them to be around even longer, but if we continue to drain their bogs they will not. Great strides are being made but those helping the little guys need help. Let’s all do our part and SAVE THE BOG TURTLE!