Western Pond Turtle SAFE Action Plan for 2019 - 2021 Goal The long-term goal of the Western Pond Turtle SAFE program is to ensure the stability of remaining Western Pond Turtle populations and support healthy population growth and expansion within the species’ range. The primary goal of this three-year Program Action Plan is to prevent the Western Pond Turtle from being added to the Federal Endangered Species List in 2020. To do this, actions in this plan support the assessment of Western Pond Turtle populations and their threats, engage the public, build public and combined stakeholder efforts and support works that increase the number of turtles living in natural areas in the species range. While there is no specific number of turtles that will prevent listing, a well-developed plan and expanding turtle populations may help meet this goal. Photo by Marianne Hale 1 Table of Contents Plan Section Pages Background 3 Conservation Target 3 Program Operational Structure 4 Program Partners 5 Status of Taxa Within AZA Community 6 AZA Public Engagement Activities 7 Existing Action Plans and Historical Actions 7-8 Potential Connections to Other Programs 8-9 Species Status 9 Threats 9 Strategies Overview 10 Literature Cited 11 Strategic Objectives 12 2019 through 2021 SAFE Strategy Actions 13-24 2 Background The Western Pond Turtle species complex (Actinemys or Emys [formerly Clemmys] marmorata and Actinemys or Emys pallida; Crother 2017) is the only native freshwater turtle throughout most of its range. Formerly abundant, the turtles are now declining in many parts of the range which extends from north Western Baja California, Mexico, north through California, Western Nevada, and Oregon to the Puget Sound region of Washington. It is restricted to areas west of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains with a few exceptions. Historically, the turtle was also found in British Columbia, Canada but has not been seen there since 1959. Western Pond Turtles (WPT) are of conservation concern throughout their range (Bury et al. 2012). Declines of WPT have been most severe in the northern and southern parts of the range, specifically in WA, southern CA, and Baja CA (Bury et al. 2012). The WPT is particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation due to its extensive use of both upland terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Other threats include predation, pollution, competition with non-native turtle species, disease, human disturbance, road mortality, and illegal collection. In the late 1800s, the turtle was highly exploited as a food source for the growing population of the American West. Conservation Target: Both recognized species of Western Pond Turtle are the conservation targets for this plan. WPT is identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in the State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) of four participating states (WA, OR, CA, NV), and is under review for federal listing by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The WPT is State Endangered in WA, State Sensitive-Critical in OR, a Species of Conservation Priority in Nevada, and a Species of Special Concern (SSC) in CA. Because the turtle is vulnerable to numerous threats, conservation needs for WPTs are different depending on location with projects addressing the highest priority actions in each region identified in the 2015 WPT Conservation Action Plan (CAP; AZA 2015). Both species share IUCN Conservation Status Vulnerable (IUCN 2019). Map of current range of the Northwestern Pond Turtle and the Southwestern Pond Turtle 3 Program Operational Structure Program Leader: Jason Watters, Ph.D, San Francisco Zoological Society (415) 213-8128; [email protected] Vice Program Leader: Jessie Bushell, M.S. San Francisco Zoological Society (415) 753-7080, Ext. 7079; [email protected] Public Engagement Subcommittee Lead: Jessica Moore, Northwest Trek (360) 832-7160; [email protected] Health Team Subcommittee Lead: Bobbi Miller, Woodland Park Zoo (206) 548-2621; [email protected] Additional Steering Committee Members: David Shepherdson, Ph.D, Oregon Zoo (513) 220-5765; [email protected] Blair Bazdarich, San Francisco Zoological Society (415) 753-8123; [email protected] FCC Liaison: Jeff Ettling, Ph.D., Sedgwick County Zoo Chelonian TAG advisor: Michael Ogle, Knoxville Zoo Photo courtesy of National Park Service 4 Program Partners: Numerous partners have been involved with Western Pond Turtle SAFE. Western Pond Turtle was one of the original SAFE programs established by AZA in 2014. Stakeholders, including zoos, researchers and state and federal wildlife agencies met in Oakland, CA in 2015 to review threats and develop an action plan for the species. Initial Program Partners present at Oakland Meeting AECOM Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) California Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservacion de Fauna del Noroeste (CDFW) Department of Defense, Naval Facilities IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Engineering Command SW (DOD) Group IUCN SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Knoxville Zoo Specialist Group Oakland Zoo Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Oregon Wildlife Institute Oregon Zoo San Diego Zoo Global (SDZG) San Francisco Zoological Society San Jose State University (SJSU) Sonoma State University (SSU) The Wildlife Project Turtle Conservancy US Fish and Wildlife Service` (USFWS) Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Woodland Park Zoo University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) US Forest Service (USFS) US Geological Survey, Oregon (USGS-OR) US Geological Survey, California (USGS-CA) Additional Program Partners Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Park Service (NPS) Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDW) PAWS Wildlife Center Safari West Sustainability in Prisons Project and Cedar Creek Corrections Facility Shedd Aquarium University of Illinois (UI) VCA Northwest Veterinary Specialists VCA Veterinary Specialty Center of Seattle Public Engagement Partners California Department of Fish and Wildlife CuriOdyssey Living Desert Fresno Chaffee Zoo Oakland Zoo Oregon Zoo Northwest Trek Sacramento Zoo San Francisco Zoological Society Sequoia Park Zoo Turtle Conservancy 5 Range-wide Conservation Coalition Partners Bureau of Land Management California Department of Fish and Wildlife Department of Defense Fauna del Noroeste A.C., Baja California Independent biologist National Park Service Nevada Department of Wildlife Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Zoo PARC San Francisco Zoological Society US Fish and Wildlife Service US Forest Service US Geological Survey Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Status of Taxa Within AZA Community The Western Pond Turtle is part of the Chelonian Taxon Advisory Group (TAG). Both species are in a Yellow Species Survival PlanTM (SSP). Studbooks separate individuals into the two current recognized species based upon genetic profiles. Currently, 25 institutions participate in the SSP. Species Number of Individuals Number of SSP Holders Northern 68 16 Southern 57 15 Unknown 32 7 The Western Pond Turtle is relatively easy to care for and a fairly active, charismatic species. Injured or rehabilitated or captive born individuals that cannot be released back to their native areas may become good animal ambassadors for zoo and aquarium visitors. Exhibits with these animals can be effective at introducing people to conservation messaging and to helping zoo-goers understand actions they might be able to take to help in conserving the species and the habitats they rely on. For AZA organizations in WPT range states, local conservation messaging may be enhanced at exhibits housing the species. Additionally, because of the turtle’s aquatic nature, other conservation messaging such as water resource conservation and wetland restoration can be added to outreach programs that use the turtle to stimulate interest. 6 Photo by Marianne Hale AZA Public Engagement Activities to Date Under the previous program action plan, WPT SAFE completed several public engagement activities. First, the foundation was laid for developing a public engagement plan with the implementation of a public engagement subcommittee and the appointment of a leader to that subgroup. The group surveyed WPT SAFE partners to determine best techniques for messaging to a zoo and aquarium audience and also to look for brief statements that SAFE partners believe to be effective in stimulating conservation action. The respondents to this survey felt that talking to people in person is one of the most effective means to communicate conservation messages about WPT. But further research should help to determine how best to develop an effective message. The WPT SAFE Public Engagement team has also developed materials that can be used for educational outreach at partner organizations including a low-cost informational poster. Existing Action Plans and Historical Actions by AZA organizations in WPT Conservation As Western Pond Turtles are currently not listed as a federally endangered species in the US, there is no active recovery plan for the species. Nevertheless, numerous actions are in place and developing that are aimed at supporting the turtles and their habitat needs. Indeed, a Range Wide Conservation Coalition is a group of stakeholders collaboratively developing a conservation plan for the turtles. This plan will be a major factor in determining whether the turtles are listed. The result of the Oakland meeting was a Conservation Action Plan that described the group’s agreed- upon key projects and communication needs. These projects described