Endangered Blanding's Turtle Discovered in Protected Area

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following is a feature story written by Steve Warburton.

After five days of cold, wet and rain, Harold and Diane Clapp quietly paddled their canoe toward a trap they had set in search of the extraordinary, and endangered, Blanding's turtle.

"We had caught a lot of painted turtles that week," recalls Diane Clapp. "It was our last day and it was the second-last trap. As I pulled it up, I was stunned to see this one was different. Our search was actually successful."

The Clapps could not miss the bright yellow throat and chin of the turtle, confirming it was the first Blanding's turtle found in the Tobeatic wilderness area.

Dubbed "Toby," the male Blanding's turtle was also the first found outside the Mersey and Medway river systems. The couple went on to discover three more Blanding's turtles this past summer -- two males, a female and a juvenile.

The discovery of the turtles, more than 10 kilometres west of the nearest population at Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, is a phenomenal occurrence. Before the find, the turtles were only known to exist in three places in Atlantic Canada: Kejimkujik, McGowan Lake and Pleasant River. The discovery means there could be a fourth, and potentially distinct, population in the province.

The Blanding's turtle is a long-lived reptile, with some living more than 70 years. They are also slow to mature and do not reproduce until their early twenties. In contrast with the rest of the turtle's body, its chin, throat and underside of its long neck is bright yellow. It is topped by what appears to be a permanent smile because of the notch in the turtle's upper jaw.

"I don't think any of us thought we would find it," says Diane Clapp, who adds fellow stewards and researchers, were equally thrilled to hear the news.

The Nova Scotia population is the most isolated in the world. Discovering a population in the Tobeatic is good news because it increases the known number of protected areas where the species is found, which means the turtles have access to more undisturbed habitat and are less likely to be negatively impacted by human activity, such as roads and traffic.

The Clapps' discovery resulted from their volunteer efforts and a creative stewardship program between a number of partners including Parks Canada, Acadia University, the provincial departments of Natural Resources and Environment and Labour, as well as the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute, the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.

The Clapps are members of the Kejimkujik Area Stewardship Program, funded by Parks Canada and the Habitat Stewardship Program of Environment Canada.

Life-long back-country explorers, the Clapps, like other volunteers, were trained by researchers and stewardship biologists to do work that contributes to the recovery of species at risk in Nova Scotia. Participants learn how to survey for species at risk and, in particular, to trap and track turtles and to protect their nests.

Since research funding is sporadic, volunteers are crucial for sustained research. This year, about 85 turtle volunteers searched in Kejimkujik and more than 25 communities outside the park, for the Blanding's turtle nest protection program alone. Many more volunteers are involved in other projects that support species-at-risk recovery.

Brennan Caverhill, a stewardship biologist at Kejimkujik National Park, says the Clapps are modern examples of what "citizen science" can do for endangered species.

The Blanding's turtle was first discovered in the 1953 by an Acadia biologist, Sherman Bleakney. Thirty years passed before researchers began to intensively study the unique turtle, starting in the late 1980's with the work of Tom Herman, professor and biologist at Acadia University.

In recent years, bolstering volunteer efforts have yielded encouraging results.

The first step for volunteer stewards is to learn about the turtle, and other endangered species like piping plovers, the eastern ribbonsnake, monarch butterflies and Atlantic coastal plain flora at the website www.speciesatrisk.ca .

Next, they report sightings, and learn what threatens these species, to find other ways to help. Mr. Caverhill adds it is a great idea for outdoor enthusiasts to take a camera along on trips to help document sightings. The toll-free species-at-risk hotline is 1-866-727-3447 or e-mail: sightings@speciesatrisk.ca .

In the case of Blanding's turtles, volunteers and researcher training is usually conducted at the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute. For volunteers willing to dedicate time and energy to the program, one-on-one training is offered at any location in southwest Nova Scotia.

To get involved and make a difference, contact Duncan Smith at duncan.smith@pc.gc.ca or 902-682-7401 or Brennan Caverhill at brennan.caverhill@gmail.com or 902-682-7154.