By Kiley Briggs, the Orianne Society

Female Wood Turtle Photo Credit Orianne Society

With a black head, bright orange legs, and a brown shell sometimes decorated with brilliant yellow markings, you’d think a Wood Turtle would be easy to spot. Found mostly in river valleys, Wood Turtles are rare in most areas, but even in the few places where they thrive, not many people ever see one. And for good reason.

A recent encounter I had with a Wood Turtle demonstrates how cryptic they can be. Standing in a small clearing, it took over ten minutes before a pattern emerged from the leaflitter by my feet, and I realized I was nearly standing on a Wood Turtle. The same bright coloration that makes Wood Turtles so distinct also hides them against a backdrop of leaflitter. In their habitat, they just need to sit still to avoid being seen as they wait for threats to pass. Although their hidden nature plays a part in why they are hard to see, so too does their rarity, and the species is in trouble. 

Wood Turtles overwinter in valley streams, but feed mostly in meadows and upland forests, sometimes spending weeks on end away from water. They spend a lot of time in farm fields and may cross roads several times a year. Many are hit by cars or crushed by machinery. Wood Turtles can live nearly a century, and their longevity is key to the species’ survival, so the early death of an adult is a big loss.

The nonprofit I work for, the Orianne Society, has spent a lot of time monitoring Wood Turtles in the Memphremagog Basin, and recently began working with MWA’s Watershed Project Manager, Patrick Hurley, to discuss habitat restoration needs. We have learned a lot about how Wood Turtles use this landscape and the threats they encounter. Blending our knowledge of those threats with MWA’s expertise in riparian restoration is a huge step forward for the conservation of this charismatic species, and they really do need our help!

For example, a turtle we know well was already missing a leg when we first found her in 2018. She later lost a chunk off the edge of her shell to a mower blade. She’s lucky, as mowers are often fatal. As MWA ramps up landowner outreach efforts to promote watershed stewardship, there is an opportunity to dovetail Wood Turtle conservation on properties with interested landowners, which will lead to fewer turtle deaths. 

A great way to restore Wood Turtle habitat is to create or expand vegetated buffers along streams, putting some distance between rivers and machinery. For water quality, a buffer might be about 75 feet wide, but for Wood Turtles, every extra foot helps, up to about 300 feet. Opportunities for a 300-foot buffer are few and far between, but any buffer is better than none, and when it comes to Wood Turtles, the bigger the better.

This month, Wood Turtles are waking from their winter slumber, and for the next few weeks you may see them basking along riverbanks. Once spring warms up a bit, they will scatter through the valleys and foothills, but not all of them will make it back in the fall. Collaborations, such as those between Orianne and MWA, are key to the survival of this species. I am optimistic that Wood Turtles have a brighter future here as a result. 

To learn more, visit Orianne.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on social media @OrianneSociety. If you have seen a Wood Turtle in Vermont, please consider contacting me at kbriggs@oriannesociety.org