WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity and 66 organizations and individuals today urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect wood turtles as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These rare turtles were once common across the Northeast and the upper Midwest.
“Wood turtles are disappearing at an alarming rate. Without the lifeline of the Endangered Species Act, I’m afraid they’ll slide into extinction,” said Tara Zuardo, a senior advocate at the Center. “The Trump administration must do its job and protect these turtles before it’s too late.”
Today’s letter to the Service says wood turtles are one of the most imperiled turtle species in North America, having lost more than half of their suitable habitat over the last century because of urbanization and agriculture. The remaining places where the turtles survive face new threats from development, roads, fragmentation, poaching and predation. Populations have experienced a 50% decline in less than 10 years.
In 2012, the Center and allies petitioned the Service to protect wood turtles under the Act. In 2016, the Center filed a lawsuit to push the Service to set a firm date for making a decision on the turtle’s protection, which is now more than a decade overdue.
There have been widespread reports of declining populations in many locations, with likely only a small number of places left where the animals can survive long term.
Habitat loss is a major threat to the turtles. As their natural habitats are changed or destroyed, they lose essential areas for foraging, nesting and temperature regulation. Road deaths are also a significant threat as the turtles often travel on land during summer months and face a high risk of being hit by vehicles. Predation from other animals and illegal collection of wood turtles for the pet trade also pose serious threats.
A group of wood turtle scientists recently submitted a letter to the Service urging the agency to protect wood turtles under the Endangered Species Act. The Center also provided significant, recent scientific information to support the listing.
“Wood turtles are among hundreds of animals languishing under a system of political interference and bureaucratic delay as this administration prioritizes extinction over a healthy natural world,” said Zuardo. “Last year, not a single species gained Endangered Species Act protection for the first time since 1981.”
Wood turtles have sculpted, pyramidal brown carapaces, a yellowish plastron with dark markings, and bright orange to red coloring on their necks, chins and legs. They exhibit a behavior not observed in any other reptile: the worm stomp. This involves stomping their feet and shell on the ground to imitate falling rain or the movement of moles, tricking worms into coming to the surface where they can be eaten. Adults can live up to 40 to 60 years in the wild, but only a fraction of hatchlings survive to adulthood.
