The Big Four of Turtle Conservation

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If you like turtles, as most of us do, we would like to tell you about four species in urgent need of our help. Wood Turtles, Bog Turtles, Blanding’s Turtles, and Spotted Turtles are all in sharp decline, and to us, they are the Big Four of Turtle Conservation in the Northeastern United States. Although the threats to these species are growing, it is not too late to protect and restore their habitat in key landscapes and ensure that all four can survive alongside humans in this modern era.

To help The Orianne Society in its initiative to protect habitat for these four species and other imperiled reptiles, please consider supporting us by making a contribution, becoming a member, or visiting our online shop. And follow us on Social Media @OrianneSociety where we will be featuring #TheBigFourTurtles all week. Continue reading to learn more about these incredible animals, their life histories, threats, and what can be done to restore their habitat and ensure their futures.  

Turtles in need...

Turtles are among the most threatened groups of animals on the planet, with 61% of the 356 living species currently threatened with extinction. The loss of each species can be a very drawn out process, with the last few surviving members sometimes living more than a century without ever seeing another of their kind. Although every turtle species has a lineage that can be traced back to a common ancestor that lived over 200 million years ago, there is growing concern that many turtle species may not survive the modern era. Yet there is hope, and momentum is building to conserve and restore landscapes to protect the species in greatest need.

📷Kiley Briggs
Wood 📷 Kiley Briggs
Primary Threats: Moving through forests between wetlands puts Spotted Turtles at great risk and they are frequently killed by cars and heavy machinery (farm and logging equipment). Invasive plants and poor water quality degrades their wetland habitats, and increased predator numbers can depress egg, hatchling, and adult survival rates. To top all that off, countless Spotted Turtles are illegally collected as part of an international black market every year. 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Spotted 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Threats: The river valleys where Wood Turtles thrive are often bounded by roads and dominated by agricultural land use, so as the turtles roam across the landscape they are killed by cars or crushed by farm or logging equipment. Poor water quality can make make it harder for the turtles to survive the winter. Elevated predator numbers can also destroy most of the turtle’s eggs and young and can injure adult turtles. Roughly 12% of adult Wood Turtles are missing at least one limb due to past injuries, and many carry large scars on their shells. This turtle was already missing a foot when she was hit by haying equipment and lost several inches off the edge of her shell. 📷Kiley Briggs
Wood 📷Kiley Briggs
Blanding's 📷 Kiley Briggs
Blanding's 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷Kiley Briggs
Wood 📷 Kiley Briggs
Wood Turtle underwater.
Wood 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷Kiley Briggs
Wood 📷 Kiley Briggs
Bog 📷 Pete Oxford
Bog 📷 Pete Oxford
Bog 📷 Henning von Schmeling
Bog 📷 Henning von Schmeling
Physical Description: Wood Turtles have black heads with very a very distinct orange neck and legs. Their shells, which get about 8-inches long, can be patterned with brilliant yellow spots and striations. Each scute (scale) on their shell is pyramidal in shape, forming radiating grooves and circled with annular rings. This pyramidal structure is unique among the other three species, and may help protect the shell from injury during river floods where turtles can be tumbled downstream against rocks. After reaching full size, their textured shells begin to wear down, with the oldest individuals having an appearance and texture reminiscent of polished marble. 📷Kiley Briggs
Wood 📷 Kiley Briggs
Spotted 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Spotted 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Blanding's 📷 Kenny Rueland
Blanding's 📷 Kenny Rueland
Bog 📷R. Zappalorti
Bog 📷R. Zappalorti
Blanding's 📷 Kiley Briggs
Blanding's 📷 Kiley Briggs
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting land and restoring forested habitat within ~1300 feet of Spotted Turtle wetlands is critical to their survival. Restoring wetlands by plugging drainage ditches can also be very helpful in some places, as can restoring native vegetation. If timber must be harvested within 1300-feet of Spotted Turtle wetlands, it should be done during the winter when the turtles are overwintering in wetlands. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Spotted 📷 Kiley Briggs
Habitat: Spotted Turtles inhabit shallow wetlands with logs of emergent vegetation and they frequently forage in vernal pools to take advantage of seasonal food sources such as amphibian eggs. Moving from pool to pool means traveling through forested land periodically from spring through fall. They can inhabit almost any kind of freshwater wetland, but in the northeast are absent from many areas. Spotted Turtles nest in or near their core wetland habitat, sometimes laying eggs in sphagnum moss or even the tops of decaying logs. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Spotted 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷 Kenny Ruelland
Blanding's 📷 Kenny Rueland
📷Kiley Briggs
Wood 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Spotted 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Wood 📷 Pete Oxford
Wood 📷 Pete Oxford
📷 Kiley Briggs
Spotted 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷 Kenny Ruelland
Blanding's 📷 Kenny Rueland

To us, Spotted, Wood, Blanding’s and Bog Turtles are the BIG four turtle conservation priorities in the Northeastern US. Their ranges are widespread, but each species is in decline nearly everywhere they occur, and they can all be found very close to human habitation, sometimes in our own backyards. With long lifespans (nearly a century for Wood and Blanding’s) and low reproductive and growth rates, their populations depend on the longevity and high survival rates of adults, but these four species all need a lot of space and the ability to move freely across the landscape. When forced to cross roads and trails, wander into residential areas, or forage in farm fields, these turtles can easily be crushed by cars and machinery, and local populations cannot survive the slow drip of losing even just a handful of turtles every year due to human activity. With remaining habitat rapidly vanishing, the time to act is now.

The Big Four of Turtle Conservation

These four species, each with their own unique lifestyles and habitat preferences, share many things in common. Unlike their more aquatic counterparts, such as Painted Turtles which rarely leave the water except to sun themselves or nest, Spotted, Wood, Blanding’s and Bog Turtles all spend considerable time on land. While Bog Turtles sometimes spend their entire lives in and around the same wetland, the other three can cover great distances, moving between rivers and foothills or from one wetland to another through forests. Those terrestrial movements put these turtles at great risk. Simply put, they no longer have the space they need to survive in many areas, and their remaining habitat is being divided into increasingly smaller pieces separated by greater distances. Furthermore, all four are under great threat from a growing international black market, and many are illegally collected from the wild to be sold as pets overseas, so it is best not to publicize locations where the species can be found to avoid attracting poachers. Land conservation and habitat restoration is critical to the survival of all four.

You can learn more about these turtles by scrolling through the following species slideshows and reading the captions.

Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)

Physical Description: Bog Turtle are the smallest North American Turtle topping off at only 3.5 inches. Their skin and top of their shell are dark gray to black and they have large yellow or orange markings on the sides of the head and over the back of the neck. They are the most secretive of the four species, so few people have a chance to observe their beauty. 📷 Pete Oxford
Physical Description: Bog Turtle are the smallest North American Turtle topping off at only 3.5 inches. Their skin and top of their shell are dark gray to black and they have large yellow or orange markings on the sides of the head and over the back of the neck. They are the most secretive of the four species, so few people have a chance to observe their beauty. 📷 Pete Oxford
Habitat: Bog Turtles live in mountainous bogs and other acidic wetlands with loose muddy substrates that are covered by dense layers of sphagnum moss and other vegetation. Unlike the other three of the “big four” species, Bog Turtles do not usually stray far from their core habitat and many spend their entire lives in the same wetland, even nesting in sphagnum moss in the middle of the wetland itself. 📷 Tracy Karplus
Habitat: Bog Turtles live in mountainous bogs and other acidic wetlands with loose muddy substrates that are covered by dense layers of sphagnum moss and other vegetation. Unlike the other three of the “big four” species, Bog Turtles do not usually stray far from their core habitat and many spend their entire lives in the same wetland, even nesting in sphagnum moss in the middle of the wetland itself. 📷 Tracy Karplus
. 📷 Jim & Norma Solomon
. 📷 Jim & Norma Solomon
Bog 📷R. Zappalorti
Bog Turtles probably live into their 50s with some regularity, but may live longer. 📷 Robert Zappalorti
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting and restoring upland habitat around Bog Turtle wetlands can improve water quality. Restoring early successional habitat within wetlands is very helpful, and protecting surrounding land from future development and other detrimental land uses is critical. In some cases, grazing livestock can be used as a tool to maintain early successional habitat around wetlands (if done in coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and their partners). 📷 Tracy Karplus
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting and restoring upland habitat around Bog Turtle wetlands can improve water quality. Restoring early successional habitat within wetlands is very helpful, and protecting surrounding land from future development and other detrimental land uses is critical. In some cases, grazing livestock can be used as a tool to maintain early successional habitat around wetlands (if done in coordination with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and their partners). 📷 Tracy Karplus
The Bog Turtle's range follows the Appalachian Mountain range, but their distribution is very patchy and some isolated populations occur great distances from their nearest known Bog Turtle neighbors. Other isolated populations may remain undiscovered.
The Bog Turtle's range follows the Appalachian Mountain range, but their distribution is very patchy and some isolated populations occur great distances from their nearest known Bog Turtle neighbors. Other isolated populations may remain undiscovered.

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

Physical Description: Wood Turtles have black heads with very a very distinct orange neck and legs. Their shells, which get about 8-inches long, can be patterned with brilliant yellow spots and striations. Each scute (scale) on their shell is pyramidal in shape, forming radiating grooves and circled with annular rings. This pyramidal structure is unique among the other three species, and may help protect the shell from injury during river floods where turtles can be tumbled downstream against rocks. After reaching full size, their textured shells begin to wear down, with the oldest individuals having an appearance and texture reminiscent of polished marble. 📷Kiley Briggs
Physical Description: Wood Turtles have black heads with very a very distinct orange neck and legs. Their shells, which get about 8-inches long, can be patterned with brilliant yellow spots and striations. Each scute (scale) on their shell is pyramidal in shape, forming radiating grooves and circled with annular rings. This pyramidal structure is unique among the other three species, and may help protect the shell from injury during river floods where turtles can be tumbled downstream against rocks. After reaching full size, their textured shells begin to wear down, with the oldest individuals having an appearance and texture reminiscent of polished marble. 📷Kiley Briggs
Habitat: Wood Turtles overwinter in streams that meander through floodplains, but they forage primarily on land, often traveling 1000-feet or more from water into the uplands for weeks on end where they use a variety of habitats, usually concealed in dense vegetation. They typically nest on sandy beaches along the twists and turns of the rivers they inhabit. Even in areas where Wood Turtles are relatively abundant, most people never see one due to how well they hide as the move across they landscape. 📷Kiley Briggs
Habitat: Wood Turtles overwinter in streams that meander through floodplains, but they forage primarily on land, often traveling 1000-feet or more from water into the uplands for weeks on end where they use a variety of habitats, usually concealed in dense vegetation. They typically nest on sandy beaches along the twists and turns of the rivers they inhabit. Even in areas where Wood Turtles are relatively abundant, most people never see one due to how well they hide as the move across they landscape. 📷Kiley Briggs
Threats: The river valleys where Wood Turtles thrive are often bounded by roads and dominated by agricultural land use, so as the turtles roam across the landscape they are killed by cars or crushed by farm or logging equipment. Poor water quality can make make it harder for the turtles to survive the winter. Elevated predator numbers can also destroy most of the turtle’s eggs and young and can injure adult turtles. Roughly 12% of adult Wood Turtles are missing at least one limb due to past injuries, and many carry large scars on their shells. This turtle was already missing a foot when she was hit by haying equipment and lost several inches off the edge of her shell. 📷Kiley Briggs
Threats: The river valleys where Wood Turtles thrive are often bounded by roads and dominated by agricultural land use, so as the turtles roam across the landscape they are killed by cars or crushed by farm or logging equipment. Poor water quality can make make it harder for the turtles to survive the winter. Elevated predator numbers can also destroy most of the turtle’s eggs and young and can injure adult turtles. Roughly 12% of adult Wood Turtles are missing at least one limb due to past injuries, and many carry large scars on their shells. This turtle was already missing a foot when she was hit by haying equipment and lost several inches off the edge of her shell. 📷Kiley Briggs
Lifespan: Wood Turtles are suspected to live into their 80s or more. Up to about the age of 20, they can be aged by counting growth rings on their shells, but once they stop growing they also stop developing growth rings. After reaching full size, their shells begin to wear down and eventually develop an appearance and texture reminiscent of polished marble. These four images show the difference in shell texture from day one up to “anybody’s guess”. The shell smoothing of the bottom right turtle may take 80 years, but that is an educated guess. 📷Kiley Briggs
Lifespan: Wood Turtles are suspected to live into their 80s or more. Up to about the age of 20, they can be aged by counting growth rings on their shells, but once they stop growing they also stop developing growth rings. After reaching full size, their shells begin to wear down and eventually develop an appearance and texture reminiscent of polished marble. These four images show the difference in shell texture from day one up to “anybody’s guess”. The shell smoothing of the bottom right turtle may take 80 years, but that is an educated guess. 📷Kiley Briggs
Example Conservation Actions: Working in partnership with farmers to integrate turtle conservation into working lands is a great way to protect Wood Turtles. Creating vegetated buffers along streams provides foraging habitat and improves water quality, and reducing equipment use within 300-ft of suitable streams from spring-fall saves turtles from being crushed. That may mean setting some land aside, or just timing certain harvests until after turtles return to water or placing turtle-friendly crops and livestock closer to the river. Ultimately, protecting habitat from future development is the best way to ensure long-term success for Wood Turtles. 📷Kiley Briggs
Example Conservation Actions: Working in partnership with farmers to integrate turtle conservation into working lands is a great way to protect Wood Turtles. Creating vegetated buffers along streams provides foraging habitat and improves water quality, and reducing equipment use within 300-ft of suitable streams from spring-fall saves turtles from being crushed. That may mean setting some land aside, or just timing certain harvests until after turtles return to water or placing turtle-friendly crops and livestock closer to the river. Ultimately, protecting habitat from future development is the best way to ensure long-term success for Wood Turtles. 📷Kiley Briggs
Range: Wood Turtles occur in the Northeastern US from northern West Virginia ranging up to Southeastern Canada, and west past the Great Lakes into Minnesota.
Range: Wood Turtles occur in the Northeastern US from northern West Virginia ranging up to Southeastern Canada, and west past the Great Lakes into Minnesota.

Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)

Blanding's 📷 Kiley Briggs
Physical Description: Blanding’s Turtles top off about 10-inches in length and have highly-domed shells. The top of their shell is dark and usually covered in small yellow spots. One of the most noticeable things about them is their lower jaw and throat, which is a distinct solid bright yellow. The rest of their skin is mostly black, sometimes with yellow spots, especially on the head. 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷 Kenny Ruelland
Habitat: Blanding’s Turtles inhabit shallow wetlands of many kinds and may travel up to a kilometer through upland forest between multiple wetlands throughout the year. Ideal habitat is a hardwood forest with sandy soils and many discrete wetlands in close proximity. They nest in exposed sandy soils, sometimes in recent log landings, but they often nest along roads or recreational fields. 📷 Kenny Ruelland
📷 Kiley Briggs
Blanding's Turtle - Kiley Briggs
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting forested land around and between Blanding’s Turtle wetlands from future development is incredibly important. Log landings can be converted into nesting habitat, and adding sand can be very helpful, but nest site creation should only be done in coordination with state wildlife agencies. Timber harvests in Blanding’s Turtle habitat should take place during winter, and ATV trails that pass near their wetlands or through nest sites should be closed, re-routed, or used only from late fall through early spring. At roadkill hotspots, wildlife underpasses or turtle and fish-friendly culverts can be installed. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting forested land around and between Blanding’s Turtle wetlands from future development is incredibly important. Log landings can be converted into nesting habitat, and adding sand can be very helpful, but nest site creation should only be done in coordination with state wildlife agencies. Timber harvests in Blanding’s Turtle habitat should take place during winter, and ATV trails that pass near their wetlands or through nest sites should be closed, re-routed, or used only from late fall through early spring. At roadkill hotspots, wildlife underpasses or turtle and fish-friendly culverts can be installed. 📷 Kiley Briggs
📷 Kenny Ruelland
Lifespan: Multiple Blanding’s Turtles have been found in their late 70s to mid 80s and they may live even longer. 📷 Kenny Ruelland
Range: In the northeast, Blanding's Turtles occur in isolated areas in eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, southern Maine, and the upper Hudson River drainage and Saint Lawrence River Valley of New York.
Range: In the northeast, Blanding's Turtles occur in isolated areas in eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, southern Maine, and the upper Hudson River drainage and Saint Lawrence River Valley of New York.

Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Spotted 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Physical Description: Spotted Turtles have small black shells up to about 4-inches long that are speckled with distinct yellow spots. Their skin is also black with yellow or orange spots, often with yellow or orange blotches on the side of the head. Underneath, their plastron (bottom of the shell) is typically yellow to orange with large black blotches in the corner of each scute (plate) that can sometimes cover most of the plastron. 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Habitat: Spotted Turtles inhabit shallow wetlands with logs of emergent vegetation and they frequently forage in vernal pools to take advantage of seasonal food sources such as amphibian eggs. Moving from pool to pool means traveling through forested land periodically from spring through fall. They can inhabit almost any kind of freshwater wetland, but in the northeast are absent from many areas. Spotted Turtles nest in or near their core wetland habitat, sometimes laying eggs in sphagnum moss or even the tops of decaying logs. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Habitat: Spotted Turtles inhabit shallow wetlands with logs of emergent vegetation and they frequently forage in vernal pools to take advantage of seasonal food sources such as amphibian eggs. Moving from pool to pool means traveling through forested land periodically from spring through fall. They can inhabit almost any kind of freshwater wetland, but in the northeast are absent from many areas. Spotted Turtles nest in or near their core wetland habitat, sometimes laying eggs in sphagnum moss or even the tops of decaying logs. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Primary Threats: Moving through forests between wetlands puts Spotted Turtles at great risk and they are frequently killed by cars and heavy machinery (farm and logging equipment). Invasive plants and poor water quality degrades their wetland habitats, and increased predator numbers can depress egg, hatchling, and adult survival rates. To top all that off, countless Spotted Turtles are illegally collected as part of an international black market every year. 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Primary Threats: Moving through forests between wetlands puts Spotted Turtles at great risk and they are frequently killed by cars and heavy machinery (farm and logging equipment). Invasive plants and poor water quality degrades their wetland habitats, and increased predator numbers can depress egg, hatchling, and adult survival rates. To top all that off, countless Spotted Turtles are illegally collected as part of an international black market every year. 📷 Kevin Stohlgren
Lifespan: Spotted Turtles live at least 30 years, but are suspected to live up to 50 or more. 📷 Pete Oxford
Lifespan: Spotted Turtles live at least 30 years, but are suspected to live up to 50 or more. 📷 Pete Oxford
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting land and restoring forested habitat within ~1300 feet of Spotted Turtle wetlands is critical to their survival. Restoring wetlands by plugging drainage ditches can also be very helpful in some places, as can restoring native vegetation. If timber must be harvested within 1300-feet of Spotted Turtle wetlands, it should be done during the winter when the turtles are overwintering in wetlands. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Example Conservation Actions: Protecting land and restoring forested habitat within ~1300 feet of Spotted Turtle wetlands is critical to their survival. Restoring wetlands by plugging drainage ditches can also be very helpful in some places, as can restoring native vegetation. If timber must be harvested within 1300-feet of Spotted Turtle wetlands, it should be done during the winter when the turtles are overwintering in wetlands. 📷 Kiley Briggs
Spotted Turtles are wide-ranging along almost all of the east coast of the United States and around the eastern half of the Great Lakes region, but their distribution becomes very patchy in at the northern limits of their range.
Spotted Turtles are wide-ranging along almost all of the east coast of the United States and around the eastern half of the Great Lakes region, but their distribution becomes very patchy in at the northern limits of their range.

Join the Effort to Save These Turtles

The Orianne Society works to conserve critical ecosystems for imperiled reptiles and amphibians using science, applied conservation and education, and these four species are huge priorities for us. Each turtle has incredible value and is an integral part of our ecosystems, playing their part in keeping these systems functioning. Reptiles and amphibians are key players in the world we live in, yet they are often overlooked as conservation priorities, receiving only a fraction of conservation resources compared to “cuter” animals we’re asked to save. Reptiles and amphibians are often the bellwethers of habitat health. To see these species in the wild is to see a healthy, functioning landscape.

Please join us in our efforts to protect these species, restore their habitat, and educate the community about their needs and values. Become an Orianne Society member today, make a donation, or browse our online shop to help us do more.