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Turtle Conservation on Private Property

Voluntary conservation approaches are the key to having the most dramatic and long-term effect on habitat restoration and species survival.

If you have a natural pond, wetland or river on or near your property, it may be an ideal turtle habitat.
There is a variety of ways to encourage native turtles to come to your land and help in their conservation effort.

In order to properly digest food, incubate eggs and rid themselves of parasites, turtles must bask out of water for considerable periods of time, undisturbed by predators. By installing basking structures in their habitat, you will likely attract turtles to your property and assist their well-being.
Basking structures may be floating platforms/rafts or for a more natural appearance, you may anchor a fallen tree, driftwood or logs with downward sloping edges for easy out-of-water access.
Anchor the platform or a floating log away from water's edge, so turtles can remain undisturbed by passers-by or potential land predators.
Anchor the platform in direct sunlight.
An ideal basking platform will have equal surface area exposed to the sun and submerged under water as a place to hide if startled.

Turtles will use bare ground composed of sand, silt and clay.
To create suitable nesting areas, remove non-native grasses and other non-native vegetation, exposing bare soil.
The area can be between 5 and 20 feet wide.
Mix some gravel into the soil to help control weeds.
Maintain the site every 2-3 years to prevent non-native vegetation from re-colonizing.
For more information about non-native plants in your area, visit National Invasive Species Information Center .

Nests should be protected from human and animal disturbance.
Put a large piece of chicken wire over the nest and secure it with heavy rocks to keep raccoons and other predators from destroying it.
Make sure that any protective cover doesn't prevent the sun from reaching the nest.
Also, cut holes at the base of the wire cage, approximately 2" wide, so the hatchlings are able to get out.
You may also contact ODFW for a free nest cage and instructions to install it around the nesting site, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Just like with diseases, it is best to address invasive species with prevention and early detection, before they become fully established in a habitat.
Eliminate or control non-native fish populations by short-term dewatering, angling and screening intake and outflow structures to prevent re-invasion of fish.
If stocking your pond, make sure the fish species are native to the region--many non-native fish, particularly largemouth bass, prey on young turtles.
Control bullfrogs by allowing the pond to dry up late in the summer and by removing egg masses on a yearly basis. Bullfrog eggs are laid in a broad, frothy sheet of "jelly", like poppy seeds scattered in a patch of slime.
Ask for help in identification before you start! Call the Oregon Department of Fishand Wildlife or your county Soil and Water Conservation District.

During the spring and summer months, many of us enjoy natural areas home to native turtles.
When hiking, approach the water's edge quietly.
If you have a dog, put it on a leash to prevent disturbing the turtles.
If boating, watch your wake so as not to knock the turtles off their basking logs.
Use binoculars to observe the turtles and remain hidden to prevent stressing them

Turtles are highly sensitive to disturbance particularly during the nesting process, which can take as long as 3-4 hours.
If you decide to observe turtles nesting, it is crucial to stay very still and quiet, keeping a distance of 75 feet.

Oregon's two native species of freshwater aquatic turtles, the western pond turtle and the western painted turtle, lay eggs on land from mid-May through mid-August.

Upon hatching, turtles typically stay in the nest through the fall and winter months and do not emerge from the nest until early spring of the following year.
However, there have been some documented hatchling emergences in the fall.

Turtles may choose sites as far as 500 feet away from water depending on site conditions.
They look for open areas where their eggs can be incubated by the sun.
South-facing slopes, with sparse vegetation of short native grasses and scattered patches of shrubs, are ideal for nesting sites.
Turtles will not nest in areas with tall or dense grasses because of minimized sun exposure.

Look for trampled vegetation or disturbed soil packed into a small mound about 3"x4" in diameter.
If the area is wet, it means the turtle nested within the past 24 hours, as turtles urinate on the ground to soften it as they dig.

If you want to make sure your pond or wetland will be there for future generations of turtles, consider setting up a conservation easement.
Providing habitat for turtles is so important that both Federal and State governments offer a variety of incentive programs, including funding and on-site technical assistance.
For a list of Federal and Oregon State Landowner Incentive Programs, visit: Bio Diversity and Partnership and OWEB Grant Program
For assistance and any further information, contact a representative from your local Soil and Water Conservation District: ODA Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

It's illegal to buy native turtles or transport them to your property.
If you purchase non-native turtles, do not put them in outdoor home ponds--keep them in a secure large tank from which they can't escape.
Never release a non-native pet turtle into the wild--it is inhumane and illegal.
If it survives and begins to reproduce, the results can be disastrous to local ecosystems and wildlife.
For instance, released red-eared slider turtles are partly to blame for the demise of native Northwest turtles.

					The Lower Willamette Turtle Conservation Project was formed to share expertise among various organizations and agencies involved in turtle conservation and to promote appreciation and conservation of turtles by all Oregonians.