Conservation

The damage to the Western Pond Turtle’s numbers was so severe that there had to be an intervention in order to save the species. But what was the incentive to save these turtles? Restoring this species would also mean that the ecosystem of wetlands throughout western Washington would return to historic levels. The restored wetlands harbor species of plants that are native to these areas that would otherwise go extinct if no restoration would take place. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife(WDFW) teamed up with the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and the Oregon Zoo of Portland to save the pond turtles.

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
WDFW acquired land in Klickitat County which is located in south Washington. There, they went on to conserve habitats of one of the last surviving populations of the turtle. Then, they set the goal to re-establish a self-sustaining population in the Puget Sound of at least 5 populations consisting of 200 pond turtles. The plan states that 70% of the turtles are to be adults and that there is evidence of natural recruitment of juveniles. It also states that the populations must reside in stable habitats away from developments, preferably a wetland complex as opposed to just one water body. These provisions were put up to ensure that there would be long term health of the population. When there are 7 populations of 200 pond turtles, they will be eligible for down listing their conservation status (Kessler 2006).

Woodland Park Zoo
The Woodland Park Zoo has set up their conservation plans since 1991. The first thing that was done was that they followed females to their nests and screened in the eggs in an attempt to increase the survival of hatchlings. The nests were protected from predators and the young were unable to escape these enclosures. The young were collected and brought back to the zoo. Here, they are fed and kept healthy until they would grow large enough (3 inches) to survive in the wild (Norman 2012) . They have successfully rereleased about 1,500 turtles back into the wild. The zoo also conducts a captive breeding program of 4 pond turtles from the Puget Sound. There are about 30 babies produced and most have been released into protected ponds in Pierce County (Woodland Park Zoo Website).

Oregon Zoo

The Oregon Zoo has also set up conservation plans with their scientists tracking released turtles. They have estimated that there are at least 95% of turtles released back into the wild have survived. In order to track the success of the program, juvenile turtles are equipped with radio transmitters. Biologists are tracking to learn more about the juvenile life and how they disperse throughout their ecosystem. They are also tracking how habitats are used and activities done before, during, and after hibernation. All of this information is used to estimate the current population’s survival rates (Oregon Zoo Website).

• Kessler, Richard. "South Puget Sound Wildlife Area Management Plan - WDFW Publications | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife." Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. WDFW Publications, Nov. 2006. Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00540/>.
• Norman, Guy. "Southwest Washington Wildlife Reports." Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://wdfw.wa.gov/about/regions/region5/wildlife_reports/2012/jan12.html>
• Oregon Zoo Website (http://www.oregonzoo.org/Conservation/westernpondturtle.htm)
• Woodland Park Zoo Website (http://zoo.org/page.aspx?pid=1431)
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