Working Group for the Conservation of Ontario Turtles

Species

Ontario is home to all 8 native turtle species found in Canada, including: wood turtles, eastern musk turtles, Blanding’s turtles, snapping turtles, spiny softshell turtles, northern map turtles, spotted turtles, and painted turtles (both midland and western sub-species).

However, almost all the species (all but the western painted turtle sub-species) are or are recommended to be listed as Species-at-Risk within the province, due to threats such as habitat destruction and fragmentation, road mortality human-subsidized predation, poaching, environmental pollution, and climate change.

WPC is a founding member of the multi-partner Working Group for the Conservation of Ontario Turtles (WGCOT), which was formed in 2020 and intends to be incorporated under the Ontario Turtle Conservation Network. The goal of the group is to support the implementation of priority recovery actions for Ontario’s freshwater turtles by fostering communication, collaboration, and landscape-scale conservation planning among turtle conservation practitioners.

WGCOT activities include:

  • Collaborative writing of the Standard Ontario Turtle Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) document, currently in a draft stage. The BMP serves as a guideline for several ex-situ turtle conservation actions, including:
    • Protecting nests from predators;
    • Collecting and incubating eggs from imperilled nest locations;
    • Rearing hatchlings (headstarting); and
    • Releasing back to the wild.
  • Facilitation of participatory multi-partner conservation planning workshops to identify and prioritize the ex-situ conservation needs of each Ontario turtle species.
  • Production of outreach and education materials sharing information on how to identify Ontario turtle species, how to help turtles on the road, and how to submit turtle observations to community science projects. Check out the “Resources” section for access to outreach materials.

Through supporting and connecting active turtle conservation projects in Ontario, the WGCOT contributes to the recovery of at-risk turtle species by ultimately building conservation capacity and encouraging greater strategic efficiency and effectiveness of conservation projects across the province.

Resources

Saving Ontario’s Turtles – WPC Blog

Turtles of Ontario – Ontario Turtle Conservation Center

Turtles of Ontario – Ontario Nature

Species At Risk in Ontario

Species At Risk in Canada

Other Reptile and Amphibian Resources – Canadian Herpetological Society

Project Staff

Hannah McCurdy Adams

Hannah McCurdy Adams

Hannah McCurdy Adams is WPC’s Reptile and Amphibian Development Coordinator. She has worked with experts in the fields of road ecology, physiology and genetics. Hannah has been involved in conservation projects for at-risk reptiles and amphibians in Canada for over a decade.

Thank you to those who make this work possible

Ontario Turtle Conservation Network
Toronto Zoo
Canadian Wildlife Federation
Scales Nature Park
Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
Laurentian University
Magnetawan First Nation
Shawanaga First Nation
Georgian Bay Biosphere
Parks Canada
Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre

Habitat Stewardship Program – Government of Canada

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WPC is headquartered in Guelph, Ontario on the homelands of many nations, including the Anishinaabek, Neutral, Métis, Mississauga, and Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and on the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. We work across Turtle Island, and have deep gratitude to all the Indigenous Peoples who have been, and continue to be, stewards and protectors the lands on which we rely.

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