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The Southern Pacific Pond Turtle used to be a common resident
along the rivers of California, but with a 95% loss of
riparian forests and the channelizing of most of
California's rivers, it has become close to endangered.
Along with restoration of the forest for birds and other
wildlife, the Kern River Preserve is restoring ponds for
turtles and other wildlife to once again flourish. The
turtle project is funded by a grant from the Fish &
Wildlife Foundation.
The team began
refurbishing a trailer at the Kern River Preserve Headquarters in
June of 2006. In November of 2006, they broke ground to build a
turtle enclosure to hold adults during the breeding season and
then to safeguard their eggs from predators during incubation.
The team finished building the ponds in early June
and then started trapping turtles to find
females with eggs in June of 2007. Each turtle is carefully marked and
recorded and non-gravid females and males are immediately
released. The hatchlings will be
raised in captivity until they are greater than 70mm long and then
will be released where the adults were originally captured. Eggs
are incubated at a temperature to favor females.
Project Leaders: Bill Foster & Darrell Barnes
Staff: Jeff King, Reed Tollefson, Alison Sheehey
Volunteers: Bob Showers, Gordon Hancock, Christine Hancock, Jake
Heflin, Birdie Foster, Marya Miller, Dave Kurdeka.
Turtle Project Schedule
Acquire Funding & Permits
Apply for grant from Fish & Wildlife Foundation - DONE
Apply for permits from California Dept. of Fish & Game - DONE
Research other headstart programs - Seattle Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo,
and Gary Collings - DONE
Design outdoor and indoor facilities - DONE
Construction and
Setup
Refurbish incubation trailer - DONE
Purchase and set up
egg incubation terrariums - DONE
Dig 8ft (l) x 12ft (w) x 3ft (d) hole at Kern River Preserve
- DONE
Dig narrow 20ft (l) x 24ft (w) x 2 ft (d) ditch for below ground
fencing - DONE
Dig narrow (200ft) ditch for electrical lines to each pond
- DONE
Connect electricity to pond areas - DONE
Dig narrow (200ft) ditch for water lines to each pond
- DONE
Connect water to pond areas - DONE
Install pond liners
- DONE
Build stream section - DONE
Install pump and filtration system - DONE
Add native plants and rocks to pond areas -
DONE
Fill ponds with water - DONE
Milestone 1: Incubation Area and Pond Area Complete
Egg Collection &
Incubation
Collect
eggs from gravid
females and then release - in progress
Transport gravid females to veterinarian for x-ray and shots
- in progress
Survey population and do population study -
DONE
Begin Egg Incubation (80-100 days) - first
hatchling 3 October 2007, 5th hatchling 11 October
Begin Egg Incubation (80-100 days) -
31 eggs hatched in 2008. DONE
Begin Egg Incubation (80-100 days)
- 11 eggs incubated in 2009 - 8 eggs hatched. DONE
Begin Egg Incubation (80-100 days) - 17 eggs
incubated in 2010 - 16 eggs hatched. DONE
Milestone 2: Eggs Collected
Hatching and Care
in Enclosed Pond
As eggs hatch, introduce juvenile turtles to pond enclosure
- five hatchlings released to enclosure from 2007 season in 2008. DONE
Provide food to juvenile turtles and maintain clean pool
environment - DONE
As eggs hatch,
introduce juvenile turtles to pond enclosure
in 2009
- thirty-one more hatchlings released to enclosure from 2008 season. DONE
Eight hatchlings put into the enclosure in
2010. DONE.
Milestone 3: Turtles Hatch & Begin to Grow
Growth in
enclosure and Release to the Wild
Maintain clean,
safe, and food-rich environment for juvenile turtles as they grow
Release turtles into the wild when they reach adequate size
of at least 508 millimeters or 70 grams. The juveniles will be
marked to keep track of their progress.
Eleven hatchlings were released to the wild in May 2009. DONE
Six hatchlings released to the wild in June
2010. DONE
All turtles should
have grown to adequate size and be in the wild at this time.
However, if there are turtles that have yet to reach adequate
size, those turtles can remain in the enclosed pond area while
they continue to grow. Clean and safe environment with adequate
food supply to be maintained for turtles as long as it is needed.
Milestone 4: All turtles grown to size and released into the wild
Conclusion of Project
See:
http://www2.eve.ucdavis.edu/shafferlab/pubs/SpinksBioCons2003.pdf
for information on another headstart program.
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