Elusive Bog Turtles Located on Protected Land 

In October, a biologist from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, volunteers with Project Bog Turtle and Catawba Lands Conservancy staff had the great pleasure to find two juvenile bog turtles on a protected property in Gaston County.

These turtles are significant because they are members of the last known Piedmont population of bog turtles in North Carolina. The tiny turtle is listed as a threatened species, primarily due to habitat loss, wetland alteration, unlawful collection and pollution.

“It was particularly rewarding to find two young turtles as a sign that reproduction is happening,” said Jeff Hall, Biologist for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.

Last summer, hundreds of donors helped raise the funds for the Conservancy to purchase land neighboring the bog in order to protect the watershed for these fragile turtles. Read more.