As a Metro scientist, Kate Holleran sees nature's biggest challenges and most glorious surprises – and she has the muddy boots to prove it. Read her latest reflections on restoring the land protected by Metro's voter-approved Natural Areas Program.
Conserving nature, one acre at a time
I was walking along the southern boundary of Metro's Chehalem Ridge property near Forest Grove when I saw something completely unexpected: a turtle. Then my colleagues Ryan, John and I just stopped in our tracks, literally, to look around. Is that really a turtle, are there others? And, is it a native turtle? Finding turtles unexpectedly in the wild is so uncommon that I can count on my thumbs the number of times I've done it.
Oregon has two native turtles, the Western pond turtle and the Western painted turtle. Both species are declining in numbers, primarily due to the loss of habitat. My turtle ID is not strong, and usually when I see a native turtle I'm looking through a pair of binoculars. I wasn't sure if our turtle was native or not, and we needed to know that before letting the critter slowly walk on. Snapping turtles and red-eared sliders are non-native species – illegal to possess in Oregon and harmful to our native animals. Eastern box turtles are non-natives that simply aren't adapted to life in Oregon. All of these are sometimes kept as pets and then released into the wild when owners tire of the turtle's long life (10 to 50 years or even more).
A couple of smart-phone photos, texts and phone calls to turtle experts resulted in the conclusion that our turtle was a non-native box turtle. I have to say, I was disappointed. But we boxed the turtle up and took it back to the field station. We'll find it a home with someone who likes turtles and can care for it for a really long time.