Sleepy Creek Watershed Association P. O. Box 991, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 West Virginia's Natural Heritage is endangered protection from federal the spring new plants grow from the seeds and and needs help to survive… Hatchlings are olive green to light brown with tails management, and little to vegetative buds dispersed the previous season. The Harperella, the slightly longer than the carapace. none from state ever-changing substrate of the stream bottom Wood Turtle, and management. complicates new growth for Harperella. When the Eastern Harperella is a stream is flooded from heavy rains and melting Lampmussel have member of the snow, the gravel shoals and banks on which their own specific urtles Are NOT Good Pets! carrot family Harperella grows may be submerged, destroyed, or T niches in the resembling a grass re-created in a different area of the stream. Turtles and other reptiles can be world and unique until it flowers. It Harperella populations are rarely able to grow in the sources of Salmonella bacteria, relationships to may have same location through many consecutive years; as especially in infants and younger other plants and medicinal properties as many other species in the its habitat shifts, so too does Harperella. This is also children. Sale of baby turtles has animals. They are same plant family do (e.g., hemlock, dill, why transplanting Harperella to encourage new been banned in the United States part of the natural horseradish). Harperella is an annual, herbaceous populations has met with very little success. The since 1975, but they are increasingly heritage of Morgan County that attracts residents plant that looks like a small Queen Anne’s lace with shifting of populations over time necessitates being sold again in recent years. and visitors alike. As with all species, they possess a small white flowers and quill-like leaves that grow protection of the entire stream and its watershed, unique genetic and chemical makeup potentially up to 16 inches long. The leaves get shorter as they not just of Harperella's current habitat. Disturbances valuable as a source of medicines and other Researchers have observed Wood Turtles get higher on the stem. It blooms in June and July in and to the watershed directly impacts Harperella. beneficial uses. “stomping” for worms! This involves an individual and then dies back When the stream contains excessive silt or algae from Their rarity is a warning for us to protect what we stomping with one front foot several times and each year. Other nutrients, these pollutants are deposited on the have left of the natural diversity we all enjoy. Their then stomping with the other front foot. plants growing in Harperella during high water. As the water recedes, the extinction would eliminate forever their supporting Researchers speculate that the vibrations created association with Harperella grows plants are encased in dried mud or algae restricting roles in a healthy, diverse environment and their by the turtle "stomping" the ground may mimic Harparella include where people enjoy photosynthesis and the plants die. potential for providing unrealized benefits. the vibrations produced by raindrops...worms azalea, mountain summer activities that WOOD TURTLE THREATS TO SURVIVAL laurel, and holly. surface during rainfall events. Once a worm can cause unintentional The medium-sized Habitat destruction and large-scale changes to Sleepy Creek’s surfaces, the Wood Turtle quickly gobbles it up. damage to the plant. Wood Turtle (Glyptemys streams like dams, sedimentation,and water pollution, Harperella typically The Wood Turtle is a generally long-lived insculpta) is most easily impact Harperella, the Wood Turtle, Eastern grows in rocky or species, reaching more than 33 years in the wild. recognized by the Lampmussel and other plants and animals that depend gravel shoals and Under natural circumstances the longevity of the sculptured growth rings on the creek. margins of clear, swift-flowing stream sections. Wood Turtle offsets the high nest and hatchling on each section of its Certain small-scale land management practices also Harperella is adapted to the annual rise and fall of mortality and delayed sexual maturity (Wood carapace (shell). The threaten them, - off-road vehicle use, weed-whacking, stream waters. Seeds germinate, or broken pieces of Turtles do not reach sexual maturity until they carapace is usually a and landscaping the riparian buffer. the plant take root, during low summer flows. High are between 14 and 18 years). In recent times medium brown and occasionally has black flecks and faint winter and spring waters cover young plants, this balance has been upset because of habitat HARPERELLA yellow rays. The head is dark brown to blackish and un- protecting them from cold and ice, and uprooting loss, highway mortality, and collection for the Harperella (Ptillimnium patterned, and the skin on the neck and forelegs varies competitors. This plant is a relatively prolific pet trade industry causing declines in adult nodosum) is a wildflower so rare from pale yellow to orangish-red. annual, and large numbers may occur within each Wood Turtle numbers. Additional pressures it is found in only 10 places in Wood Turtles are a semi-aquatic species that prefer population. have also been placed on Wood Turtle nesting the world. In West Virginia it is moderate to fast-flowing clear water. The Wood Turtle is Harperella survival appears to hinge on its sites. Wood Turtles nest on sandy river banks. only found along Sleepy Creek one of the most terrestrial turtles in the United States. adaptation to moderate, seasonal changes in the Which are also used quite heavily by and some sections of Cacapon They feed on insects, berries, greens, night crawlers, water level. This specific adaptation makes the plant recreationists. River and Back Creek. Currently worms, and other invertebrates. They frequently bask on very sensitive to environmental disturbances. Increased Sleepy Creek has the largest land and are less observable than other riverine turtles. Extremely high water level or prolonged flooding activity, Harperella population in the Females often next communally, and their eggs are heavily from increased runoff may wash away Harperella particularly country! It was placed on the US predated by other riverine dwellers such as muskrats and and its substrate. Low water level resulting from during the Endangered Species List in 1988. mink. Wood Turtles frequently bask on land and are less water diversions exposes Harperella to competition nesting However, since it does not occur on observable than other riverine turtles. Females often nest with plant species that thrive on drier ground. season, may any federal land it receives no direct communally, and their eggs are often heavily predated. Harperella completes a full life cycle each year. In negatively influence Printed on 100% recycled paper www.sleepycreekwatershedassociation.org [email protected] normal nesting behavior, Get Assistance & More Info HOW YOU CAN HELP as well as disturb nest Sleepy Creek Watershed Association sites. Volunteer monitors survey various reaches of Sleepy P.O. Box 991 Turtles and other Creek, Cacapon River, and Back Creek. Landowners, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 reptiles can be sources of fishermen, canoeists, hikers, and many others help ww.sleepycreekwatershedassociation.org Salmonella bacteria, evaluate the health of these species. especially in infants and Organizations involved in protecting these endangered Sleepy Creek Sleepy Creek Project Team, younger children. Sale of species are the Sleepy Creek Watershed Association, Eastern Panhandle Conservation baby turtles has been banned in the United States since Friends of the Cacapon River, and the Blue Heron District 304-263-4376 Ext. 117 1975, but they are increasingly being sold again in recent Environmental Network. You can become involved by Watershed Association 151 Aikens Center, Suite 1 years. contacting these organizations. Protecting and Preserving Sleepy Creek in Morgan County, WV Martinsburg, WV 25404 EASTERN LAMPMUSSEL www.wvca.us Lampmussels

The Nature Conservancy (Lampsilis radiata radiate) 4245 N. Fairfax Dr., Ste 100 703- 841-5300 help filter both How to Protect Arlington, VA 22203-1606 good and bad substances

www.nature.org from the water. They are also food for river otters Endangered Species WV Division of Natural Resources and other small in the Sleepy Creek Watershed (WVDNR) mammals, as well as fish. 1900 Kanawha Blvd, East 304-558-3315 They are found Capitol Complex, Building 3, Room 663 worldwide, but the Four Easy Ways to Protect Charleston, WV 25305-0660 highest diversity occurs Harperella, in North America. Of the 300 North American species, Sleepy Creek Endangered Species www.wvdnr.gov 1. Avoid weeding or mowing close to the 12% (35) are thought to be extinct. Most of the remaining Wood Turtles, & species are listed as endangered or threatened; about streambank. Maintain at least 3 feet, better still US Fish & Wildlife Service 10 feet, of buffer between your lawn and the 1849 C Street, NW 1-800-344-WILD 25% of the North American species are thought to have Eastern Lampmussels stable populations across their entire range. water's edge. Washington, DC 20240 2. Do not permit use of all-terrain vehicles Freshwater mussels often have very specific habitat www.fws.gov (ATVs) near streams or streambeds. requirements, and thus are sensitive to habitat changes 3. Avoid known habitats of Harperella, the such as river damming and siltation. They also have a Wood Turtle, Eastern Lampmussel and other A watershed is complex life cycle, as they rely on the availability of 'host' important species if you build, play, or swim in or all the land area Visit the SCWA web site for more resources fish to complete their reproductive cycle. Thus, changes in near the stream. that drains to a www.sleepycreekwatershedassociation.org fish populations can also affect mussel populations. In 4. Establish Conservation Easements on given body of addition, a relatively new and unique your property to create a legally enforceable water. threat has recently emerged for North land preservation agreement between you, the We all live in Membership and Renewal Form America's freshwater mussels: the landowner and a qualified land protection a watershed! Membership year is from January-December. accidental introduction of a species organization (often called a "land trust"), for the Dues should be paid by the first of the year. from Europe called the Zebra Mussel. purposes of conservation. It restricts real estate Name development, commercial and industrial uses, This species was first detected in the Address and certain other activities on a property to a This brochure was made possible through the Great Lakes in the 1980s, and has generosity of the West Virginia Stream Partners City/State/Zip mutually agreed upon level, but allows for since spread throughout much of continued agricultural use of the property as well Program ( WV SPP). The WV SPP is a cooperative Phone Email central North America where it has as forest management and a single residence. effort of DEP, DNR, the Division of Forestry, and Individual — $10 Group/Org — $25 caused dramatic declines in native the WV Conservation Agency. Family — $15 Sponsor — $100 freshwater mussel populations. Mail to: SCWA, Treasurer P.O. Box 991 P.O. Box 991, Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 sleepy- Version 2 www.sleepycreekwatershedassociation.org [email protected] © August 2008