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What is so important about the Western Pond Turtle?

At one time the Western Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata), was one of the most common creatures along western Oregon's waterways. These durable and long living turtles were well adapted to surviving in the Willamette valley. But development, habitat destruction and predation by introduced species has taken it's toll. The turtle is now fairly rare with only one percent of it's natural historic population surviving in the Willamette basin. It is considered an indicator species of the health of the riparian corridor.
A primary cause for it's reduced population is lack of breeding areas. The confluence area around Mt. Pisgah contains the largest breeding population of only two successful populations left in the Willamette basin. Yet up until recently not much was known about the turtle's life cycle and habits. FBP volunteers, working under close supervision of Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife biologists, have helped increase our understanding of the turtle's requirements to survive.

By helping with locating and tracking individual turtles with radio telemetry we've learned that the WPT behaves differently from what we might expect. It lays it's eggs in meadow areas that need to be accessible to but can be quite a distance from water. The eggs are laid in nests dug in late spring and they hatch later in the summer. After hatching the young turtles stay in the nest over winter, emerging in the spring to take the long trek to the river. The WPT utilizes a wide range of habitats over the course of a year, riverine, riparian, upland and woodland so protecting them is a difficult task. Some of the prime habitat and breeding areas in the HBRA have been located and we will attempt to do what we can to preserve them. Current efforts include clearing invasive Scotch Broom from prime nesting meadows.

For more information on our the Western Pond Turtle Habitat Restoration you can contact the FBP office at (541)344-8350.