TURTLE CONSERVANCY ANNUAL REPORT ✯ 2017 CONTENTS A WORD FROM OUR FOUNDER 2 INTRODUCTION 3 Mission Statement 3 Objectives 3 Staff 3 Board of Directors 3 Honorary and Advisory Boards 3 IN-SITU CONSERVATION 4 Mexico: Bolson Tortoise Ecosystem Preserve 4 South Africa: Geometric Tortoise Fynbos Ecosystem Preserve 6 Madagascar: Ploughshare Tortoise Conservation 7 Philippines: Palawan Forest Turtle Conservation 8 Mexico: Goode’s Thornscrub Tortoise Conservation 8 United States: Terrapin Nesting Project 9 CONSERVATION BREEDING CENTER 10 Summary of Hatchings 10 Notable Hatchings 10 Partnering to Establish New Radiated Tortoise Assurance Colony 10 Updates to the Conservation Breeding Center 11 TRADE INTERDICTION 12 USFWS Confiscations 12 CITES Work for Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles 12 OUTREACH AND AWARENESS 13 The Tortoise Magazine 13 The Turtle Ball 13 Events 13 Partnering for Yellow-footed Tortoise Conservation 13 SCIENCE AND RESEARCH 14 Scientific Publications 14 Field Programs 14 Staff Scientific Participation and Accomplishments 15 NEWS 16 The Thomas Fire 16 Behler Turtle Conservation Award to Peter Paul van Dijk 16 FINANCIALS 17 1 A WORD FROM OUR FOUNDER If you are reading this, you are likely acutely aware of the dev- astating consequences that humans have had on our plan- et. It seems we are living through an increasingly embattled era; one in which we must fight to protect what is left. As the number of extinct species ticks higher and higher, we at the Turtle Conservancy work harder and strive further to protect the world’s most endangered turtles and tortoises. In December, as if the planet were sending a brutal reminder, we were threatened by a massive wildfire on the doorstep of our Ojai Conservation Center in California. The Thomas Fire, which eventually burned over 280,000 acres in and around Ojai and the Ventura region, poured over the mountains and into our backyard. Thanks to the incredible efforts of the fire- fighters, first responders and our own Ojai team, we suffered only minor damages. I’m incredibly humbled by our dedicat- ed staff, who worked tirelessly to evacuate all of the turtles and tortoises from the facility, and then re- turned to help fight back the flames. We are still working to clean out the ash and debris from our water and air filtration systems, but we anticipate being back in full operation again soon. Despite the chaotic ending to the year, 2017 proved to be productive for the Turtle Conservancy as we worked to fulfill our mission of protecting the world’s most endangered turtles, tortoises and their habi- tats. I’d like to highlight the successes of our Geometric Tortoise conservation program in South Africa, direct- ed by TC Senior Conservation Scientists Dr. James Juvik and Dr. Ross Kiester. The Geometric Tortoise is small and incredibly beautiful with yellow and black geometric patterns adorning its shell. Only about 1,000 survive in the wild, earning the species a Critically Endangered status from the IUCN. This particular tortoise is quite difficult to breed in captivity, making in-situ conservation success even more imperative for the species’ survival. Our South African Geometric Tortoise Preserve celebrated several successes this year. The team com- pleted a mark-recapture survey to better estimate the tortoise population on the Preserve, and piloted a program designed to deter predators using 3-D printed juvenile tortoise decoys and field camera-traps, a method that may prove useful for conservation programs around the globe. As if it were foreshadowing things to come, the Preserve also suffered from a local wildfire that destroyed about 47 acres. Both the fire in South Africa and the fire in Ojai have served to remind us at the Turtle Conservancy that conservation requires dynamism, teamwork and dedication. These difficult times drive us to dig deeper and to work harder. We hope to work with you, our members, collaborators and supporters, as we con- tinue to fight for the planet’s most endangered turtles and tortoises. We are committed to doing our part, and look forward to a productive and prosperous 2018. Sincerely, Eric Goode 2 INTRODUCTION MISSION STATEMENT: The Turtle Conservancy is dedicated to protecting threatened turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide. OBJECTIVES: In-Situ Conservation, Conservation Breeding, Trade Interdiction, Outreach and Aware- ness, and Science and Research STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ursula Britton Eric Goode, President & CEO Turtle Nanny Anders Rhodin, Chair Paul Gibbons, DVM Chief Operations Officer Matthew Frankel, Treasurer Nicholas Goode Maurice Rodrigues, Secretary Communications Cullen Geiselman Kelly Herbinson Grant Writer Gregory George Juan Hernandez John Mitchell Property Manager Russell Mittermeier Angel Reyes Office Assistant Rick Ridgeway Armando Jimenez Andrew Sabin Senior Keeper Julian Sands James Juvik, PhD Senior Conservation Scientist Craig Stanford Ross Kiester, PhD Fisher Stevens Senior Conservation Scientist Michael Zilkha James Liu, DVM Director of Communications HONORARY AND ADVISORY BOARDS Max Maurer The TC is honored to also be associated with sever- Director of Membership & Public Outreach al other global turtle experts and conservationists who provide advice and support as needed. Lukasz Pogorzelski Engineer Debbie Behler, Torsten Blanck, Franck Bonin, Jim Breheny, Julie Christie, Don Church, Bernard Lynn Rimkus Controller Devaux, Taylor Edwards, John Iverson, Paul Gib- bons, Retha Hofmeyr, Bill Holmstrom, Rick Hudson, Peter Paul van Dijk, PhD John Iverson, Gerald Kuchling, Peter Laufer, Minh Field Conservation Programs Director Le, Albert Martínez Silvestre, Vivian Páez, Peter Pritchard, Hugh Quinn, Stuart Salenger, Jeff Sem- Carly Williams inoff, Brad Shaffer, Chris Shepherd, Brett Stearns, Production Manager Andrew Terry, Mercy Vaughn, and Dick Vogt. 3 IN-SITU CONSERVATION The Turtle Conservancy is committed to protecting turtles and tortoises in their natural habitat through conservation land acquisition, stewardship, and management programs around the world. In 2016, with help from grants from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and Global Wildlife Conser- vation, the Turtle Conservancy purchased over 43,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert and prime Bolson Tortoise habitat in Mexico’s Bolsón de Mapimí, and created the Bolson Tortoise Ecosys- tem Preserve. TC established a Civil Association in Mexico called HABIO, A.C. to enable the local ownership and management of the Preserve. ACTIVITIES IN 2017 A mission in July 2017 brought the TC together with Mexican and U.S. conservation biologists, Mexican authorities, and partner institutions to discuss property management needs, opportu- MEXICO: BOLSON TORTOISE nities, and challenges. The boards and staff of ECOSYSTEM PRESERVE the TC and HABIO worked towards several proj- ect goals, including establishing HABIO as a ful- The Chihuahuan Desert is composed mostly of arid ly-functional, tax-exempt Mexican NGO, taking grasslands and hosts over 3,500 plant species, one- stock of the status and needs of the property, and third of which occur nowhere else on the planet. developing both a long-term management plan Unfortunately, due to grazing cattle, mining, and as well as an immediate work plan. unsustainable agriculture, less than 4% remains in- tact today. These threats imperil the region’s bio- In December, TC scientists and our research part- diversity and endanger North America’s largest ners in Mexico implemented a new burrow scope terrestrial reptile: the Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus that will help detect tortoises even when they are flavomarginatus). underground. The scope is composed of a cam- era and lights affixed to a long hose. The operator Like the Chihuahuan Desert it inhabits, the Bolson can see in real time as the hose snakes down the Tortoise is spectacular both in ecological signifi- burrow tunnel. The device allows researchers to cance and natural history. Tortoises act as ecosys- verify the presence or absence of tortoises deep tem engineers, digging multiple burrows in the soil in their burrows, and also gives them the ability up to eight meters long and two meters deep that to film or photograph inside the burrow. During they use to thermoregulate through extreme peri- the field test, most scoped burrows indeed pro- ods of hot and cold. But they aren’t the only ones vided clear views of a resident tortoise, often ten who benefit from the retreat sites they create; an feet or further down the tunnel. The scope also abundance of other species rely on tortoise bur- gave us insight into the many other organisms us- rows for refugia from the desert’s extreme fluctu- ing tortoise burrows as refugia. We found rattle- ations in temperature. Rattlesnakes, lizards, owls, snakes, gopher snakes, spiders and moths, owls, frogs, toads, insects, spiders, and rodents have and frogs and toads using the burrows, adding to all been documented inhabiting tortoise burrows, our knowledge of the overall biodiversity of this making them one the most crucial resources in the magical land. desert. 4 TURNER ENDANGERED SPECIES FUND (TESF) of partly outdated information. Bolson Tortoise BOLSON TORTOISE PROJECT scientists, and those living in and around the re- maining Bolson Tortoise populations, have noted HABIO and TC also work with Bolson Tortoise and reported a marked decline in the species and conservation in the United States, by supporting have found that the species is far more imperiled our conservation partner, the Turner Endangered than previously thought. In October a