Despite funding challenges, local turtle hatchling program soldiers on

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They might have a reputation for moving slowly on land, but a long-running reptile research conservation program is racing to help restore a species of endangered turtles.

The Southern Ontario at Risk Reptiles (SOARR) program has hatched more freshwater turtles in North America than any similar program. This year, the team’s work has led to the release of more than 6,000 young spiny softshell turtles – a species classified as endangered by Ontario –  into the wild, a large number compared to the program’s early years.

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“We went from a small number of a few dozen turtles that we’d release every year, and now we’re releasing between 5,000 and 7,000 each year,” said Scott Gillingwater, a species-at-risk biologist with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority.

The five-member team’s work has been instrumental in halting the rapid decline of the spiny softshell turtle but only one per cent of hatchlings reach maturity, which can take 15 years. This makes the program’s work critical in safeguarding vulnerable reptile populations, said Gillingwater, who leads the project and has been involved since its inception in 1994.

“Getting them out in large numbers means that we can have an impact over time,” Gillingwater said. “We’ve seen the benefit of our work.”

The program played an invaluable role this year in the spiny softshell turtles’ life cycle in the Upper Thames River watershed.

Usually, hatchlings face obstacles, including invasive plant species interfering with nests and predatory animals such as skunks, racoons, coyotes and foxes. But extreme weather triggered by climate change made this year especially precarious for spiny softshell turtles.

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Because the eggs can only survive submerged for so long, the abnormally wet summer in the region, which included record-breaking rainfall in June and July, submerged the flood plain where the turtles nest. The flooding would have resulted in 100 per cent of eggs failing to hatch if not for the program’s efforts to collect and incubate the eggs for release, Gillingwater said.

But why the fuss over spiny softshell turtles?

Spiny softshell turtles have few options for habitat except in small populations in Southwestern Ontario and southern Quebec, Gillingwater said.

Even though nearly all won’t survive into adulthood, spiny softshell turtles are critical to birds and other reptiles, as well as serving as indicators to ongoing environmental issues like climate change.

The Southern Ontario at Risk Reptiles program also works with other reptiles such as snakes and additional turtle species and spends time educating others about their work.

But it’s not just spiny softshell turtles and other endangered species the program works to preserve that are at-risk.

Costing about $150,000 a year to operate, the program is facing its own troubles after the provincial government cut funding in 2022.

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“As time goes on, our success continues, but funding is always a big obstacle for us, so we end up looking to the federal government, which has been very great for us,” Gillingwater said.

“We hope the local community will continue to support the study and conservation of reptiles, as well as efforts to train the next generation of conservation biologists and wildlife technicians,” he said.

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada

HOW TO DONATE

What: Southern Ontario At Risk Reptiles (SOARR)

Where: To support the program, visit www.thamesriverdonations.ca/species-at-risk

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