Prospect Heights Natural Resources Commission
January 24, 2019 - Dan Thompson
"On the Brink of Extinction, Efforts to Save the Endangered Blanding’s turtle in DuPage County"
Please join us as we welcome Dan Thompson for his presentation "On the Brink of Extinction, Efforts to Save the Endangered Blanding’s turtle in DuPage County".
The Blanding’s turtle is an Illinois state endangered species. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County started efforts to save this reptile in 1996.
Since that time, a number of local organizations have joined the District in their quest to rebuild local populations.
Head starting is a technique used to rebuild Blanding’s turtle populations. Due to high nest predation rates, ecologists will track and pull wild “gravid” or pregnant females. The females are taken to Willowbrook Wildlife Center and placed in maternity pens. Females will nest in these pens; eggs are collected and incubated in captivity. Hatchlings are raised for a year or longer. Frequently larger turtle sizes translates to higher survival odds.
Dan Thompson is a wildlife ecologist with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. He has been with the District for 29 years, working the first 12 years as a resource technician on many habitat restoration projects and the last 17 years with local DuPage wildlife populations.
Please come to learn the plight of this turtle species and the work being done locally to prevent this species from going extinct. Attendance is free of charge but you must register.