Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Rare Wood Turtles: Ecology & Conservation

LS First Graph: [bird song] It’s 9 am and already muggy as Mike Jones and I head out along a stream in Conway, Massachusetts. [fade to beeping] Standing in the shade of the floodplain forest, the University of Massachusetts’ graduate student lifts an antenna above his head, switches on the monitor, and listens for the signal of the nearest wood turtle. Every other day, Jones and his crew try to check on each turtle in their study, mapping its movements and noting behavior. By nightfall, Jones will have tracked down the exact location of 35 wood turtles, roughly half the number he’s tagged with radio transmitters.

Last Graph: So that’s the bad news, and it’s pretty bad—not even considering habitat loss, predation, water pollution and other things. But Jones is guardedly optimistic. One encouraging sign has been the positive response of landowners who mow their fields not for economic reasons, but for wildlife habitat and aesthetics. Many have been willing to shift their mowing to the early spring or late fall, when the turtles are still hibernating in streams. Another idea he’s come up with is creating new fields near streams. That way the turtles won’t have to cross roads to get to good summer habitat. And although he knows these ideas won’t solve all the problems that wood turtles face, they’re simple and inexpensive. And they might be enough to keep these turtles from disappearing from our local landscape. I’m Laurie Sanders