Wildlife biologist Ale Larranaga displays the turtle eggs she removed from a nest near Fern Ridge Reservoir on July 26, 2022. As a federal agency, the Portland District provides certain protections to wildlife at Corps’ reservoirs, and the search for turtles and turtle nests is part of an effort to protect a native species, the northwestern pond turtle, which is experiencing rapid population decline. During turtle nesting season, a team of wildlife biologists from the Portland District, Army Corps of Engineers, walk the grounds around West Kirk Park, looking for native northwestern pond t
Wildlife biologist Ale Larranaga displays the turtle eggs she removed from a nest near Fern Ridge Reservoir on July 26, 2022. As a federal agency, the Portland District provides certain protections to wildlife at Corps’ reservoirs, and the search for turtles and turtle nests is part of an effort to protect a native species, the northwestern pond turtle, which is experiencing rapid population decline. During turtle nesting season, a team of wildlife biologists from the Portland District, Army Corps of Engineers, walk the grounds around West Kirk Park, looking for native northwestern pond turtles and red-eared slider turtles. The red-eared slider turtles are a nonnative species in Oregon, and they compete with native turtles for food and habitat, especially nesting sites. Corps biologists regularly look for and remove the red-eared slider turtle and its eggs from several Willamette Valley Corps locations. According to biologists, the red-eared sliders are the most popular pet turtle in the United States, but because red-eared sliders live for about 30 years, pet owners often tire of them and release them into the wild. As a result, they are considered one of the world’s 100 most invasive species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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Photo credit: © Operation 2022 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ecosystem, employee, environment, fern, ridge, stem, usace
