Threatened Blanding's Turtles Making Annual Journey Across Wabasha County (MN) Road 84 to Nature Conservancy's Weaver Dunes Preserve

6/10/2004

From: Ann Mulholland of the Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, 612-331-0759 or 612-817-4489 (cell) or amulholland@tnc.org

MINNEAPOLIS, June 10 -- The turtles are crossing the road. Each year at this time, over 1000 gravid (with eggs) female Blanding's turtles move from marshes and wetlands associated with the old Zumbro River channel and cross Wabasha County Highway 84 as they make their way to traditional nesting areas at Weaver Dunes Preserve Scientific and Natural Area. Once a nest site is chosen, the female turtle digs a hole 4 to 6 inches deep and deposits an average of 10 eggs. Then the female covers the nest and returns to the marshes.

Although listed as a threatened species in Minnesota, Blanding's turtles, still occur in substantial numbers in the vicinity of Weaver Dunes. In fact, this population may represent the largest concentration of Blanding's turtles existing anywhere in the United States, with an estimated 5,000 plus individuals believed to currently inhabit the region's wetlands. As one of the most important nongame wildlife resources in the state, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and The Nature Conservancy have sponsored research and prioritized the protection of the Weaver Dunes Blanding's turtle population.

Critical to the protection of the Blanding's turtle is protection of its habitat. The Nature Conservancy acquired the Weaver Dunes Preserve in 1980. Two years later, the Kellogg Weaver Dunes Scientific and Natural Area was established a half- mile north of the preserve by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Other protected land nearby includes the McCarthy Lake Wildlife Management Area and the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

The protection of Blanding's turtle females as they move back and forth across area roads is vital to the long-term survival and persistence of this truly unique population. Volunteers have been organized to assist with turtle road crossing in an effort to reduce road mortality and to provide an opportunity for people to get involved with turtle conservation.

Anna Travaglione, land steward for The Nature Conservancy's Weaver Dunes Preserve said that "although the Blanding's turtle is the most famous resident of Weaver Dunes, the Ottoe skipper butterfly, listed as state threatened, and the regal frittilary butterfly, a species of special concern also breed on the preserve."

If you are driving on Wabasha County Highway 84, you will notice the "rare turtle crossing" signs posted by the DNR. Please be careful and help The Nature Conservancy and the DNR protect this important species for future generations to enjoy.

Editor's Note:

Pictures and B-Roll available upon request

Weaver Dunes Preserve Open House and Field Trip -- Sat., June 12 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. -- Open to the Public! RSVP: Anna Travaglione, 507-767-4502 or atravaglione@tnc.org

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 83 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at nature.org

The Minnesota Chapter has 23,000 members and manages 56 preserves totaling more than 70,000 acres. Since the Chapter began in 1958, with the aid of volunteers it has been involved in the protection of more than 400,000 acres in the state, including native prairies, wetlands and woodland communities.