In the wetlands of B.C.’s Fraser Valley, western painted turtles face numerous challenges as eggs and hatchlings, with high predation rates, habitat loss and fragmentation, and no parental care once hatched leading to unsustainable populations. Since 2012, we’ve been improving their survival odds by protecting nests, collecting vulnerable eggs, artificially incubating them, and head-starting new hatchlings for release back into the wild. Similarly, the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, an endangered keystone species and environmental indicator, was once thought to have disappeared from Canada until its rediscovery in 2005 on Denman Island. Since then, WPC has focused on building its wild population in B.C. through conservation breeding and habitat restoration efforts. Together, these initiatives aim to enhance the survival of both species in their ecosystems. The Greater Vancouver Zoo supports both of these programs through facilities and collaborative expertise.

WILDLIFE PRESERVATION CANADA and GREATER VANCOUVER ZOO RECEIVE PRESTIGIOUS CAZA AWARDS

Guelph, ON – Menita Prasad, Director of Animal Care at the Greater Vancouver Zoo (pictured left)  and WPC’s Andrea Gielens (pictured right) share awards from the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA). The Western Painted Turtle and Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly programs won two major awards this year at the national conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly program was honoured with the Peter Karsten Award for In-Situ Conservation for the full-circle work that has been accomplished with this special butterfly on the landscape in Helliwell Provincial Park on Hornby Island. This award is particularly significant as it is named after Peter Karsten, the former director of Calgary Zoo, who initially started the project during his retirement on Denman Island. His transfer of knowledge to WPC staff helped kick-start our efforts and ensure consistency in the program moving forward. Without such a strong start, we could not have hoped to achieve the results for which we were honoured with this award.

After nearly 10 years of breeding checkerspot larvae for release, we were able to observe the completion of the full life cycle of the butterfly in the wild on Hornby Island for the first time this past spring, more than 25 years since they were last observed. Because of the short release and monitoring window for the butterfly larvae, it is a challenge to ensure that the animals we are observing in the wild have successfully overwintered in-situ, rather than being the ones we just released. Adjusting our work window as much as possible to accommodate weather conditions, as well as adapting our release location, allowed for this critical observation. Being honoured with this award, named after the founder of the project, was particularly rewarding.

The Western Painted Turtle Recovery Program was also honoured with the Colonel G.D. Dailley Award for Ex-Situ Propagation. This award recognizes achievements in ex-situ propagation and management programs that contribute to the long-term survival of animal species or populations. It demonstrates a significant commitment to propagation or management programs that produce introductions positively impacting the sustainability of the species or population. WPC’s Lead Biologist for B.C. Programs, Andrea Gielens, received the award in-person at CAZA’s annual conference held this year in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

The work of the recovery program over the past 14 years has resulted in actively breeding populations now seen in over a dozen additional locations, with thousands of turtles released into new and historic habitats, ensuring the longevity of this species on the landscape.

Andrea Gielens

Lead Biologist – Fraser Valley Wetlands Wildlife

Andrea manages WPC’s captive breeding and release programs for the Oregon spotted frog and the coastal western painted turtle. Andrea has studied at-risk reptiles and amphibians in Canada and abroad, including a term at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey. Andrea also manages the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly recovery program in BC.

Andrea Gielens

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