Conserving the Wood Turtle

Currently full to capacity, call if you wish to be placed on a waitlist

Thursday, January 26, 2017 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at NRWA River Resource Center, 529 Main Street (Rt. 119) in Groton, MA

The NRWA and Groton Turtle Conservation invite the public to join us for a free presentation by Michael Jones, state herpetologist, on the topic of “Conserving the Wood Turtle.” The North American wood turtle was probably one of the most common freshwater turtle species in eastern Massachusetts in the mid-1800s. In fact, some of the earliest scientific observations of wood turtle biology and abundance were made in the Nashua and Assabet Rivers by Louis Agassiz and Henry David Thoreau. By the 1970s, most populations in this area had been severely compromised by habitat fragmentation, collection of adults, and pollution. Remaining wood turtle populations tend to be very small, isolated, and declining, but a network of partners is working to conserve them at multiple scales, from the Nashua River watershed to the full extent of their range from Nova Scotia to Virginia, through land conservation, habitat management, and public outreach.

Mike Jones is the state herpetologist for MassWildlife. He has studied New England’s wonderful but imperiled wood turtles for 13 years and is co-chair of the Northeast Wood Turtle Working Group, which represents thirteen states and is dedicated to identifying and protecting significant wood turtle habitat from Maine to Virginia. Mike was a co-founder of American Turtle Observatory and has studied turtles, amphibians, plants, and natural communities in Mexico, the USA, and Canada. Mike is the co-author and editor (with Liz Willey) of Eastern Alpine Guide, an ecological account of alpine tundra; he is from Andover and lives in New Salem.

In the event of inclement weather, this presentation will be postponed to Thursday, February 9th; postponement to be posted on this NRWA’s website, by 4:00 p.m. on the date of the talk.  Pre-registration is appreciated for planning purposes.  To pre-register, please contact Wynne Treanor-Kvenvold, NRWA Communications Manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call (978) 448-0299.

About our co-sponsors:  Groton Turtle Conservation is a donor supported volunteer group focused on protecting Groton’s turtle population through a variety of conservation projects and education programs. Learn more at www.grotonturtles.org.