Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for April–June 2025
Monitoring Bog Turtle Populations Post-Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina
by Rosemary Ronca; Gabrielle Graeter, Western Region Reptile Biologist
T he southern lineage of the bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenber- gii) is both state and federally threatened and a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in North Carolina. During the land- fall of Hurricane Helene in September 2024 in western NC, the habitat at many of the best known populations of bog turtle pop- ulations in the state were hit with severe flooding and in some cases, extreme impacts to the habitat. There were sediment depos- its of sand and rubble washed in from upstream, sections of ground scoured by fast moving water, and an increase in fallen trees and other woody debris. Due to the altered landscapes within the watershed of these bogs, the impacts were worse than they would have been in a natural floodplain wetland complex. Initially, our team conducted standardized assessments of many of the bogs in North Carolina to determine physical damage to the habitats, and in late Spring 2025, we began to monitor and assess bog turtle populations post-Helene. Initially, we surveyed bogs using probing sticks and hand noodling techniques to search for turtles. We also included passive techniques to help assess some of our hardest hit populations – five properties were selected to retrap using our bucket camera trapping (BCT) protocol. These five sites had previously been trapped in 2021, and we repeated the same methods and effort in Spring 2025, which will allow us to compare relative abundance estimates pre- and post-Helene. We are hopeful for the survival of bog turtles at the impacted populations in North Carolina. Living turtles have been encoun- tered at each of the bogs which were most heavily impacted from the storm, including one site which was under ~13 feet of water at the peak, and estimated to be under flood waters for over 50 hours. Additionally, the living turtles that we encountered were from various age classes, including juveniles, sub-adults, and adults. We also found nests at most of the bogs where we historically found evidence of reproduction. Though it will take several years of repeated surveying to begin to understand the impact of Hurricane Helene on these popula- tions, we are seeing promising indicators that the populations may recover in time.
GABRIELLE GRAETER/NCWRC
Top: Partners from the USFWS and Amphibian & Reptile Conservancy (ARC) assist with surveys at a bog by using probing sticks and hands (noodling) to locate bog turtles in vegetation, mud, or water. Bottom left: A juvenile bog turtle found at one of the heavily impacted sites. The turtles that were found were typically in good condition and did not show signs of storm-related injuries. Bottom right: A bog turtle nest found on a raised mound of vegetation at a bog. We either pro- tect nests that we find by installing wire-mesh cages over them to reduce the chance of predation, or by collecting the eggs to incubate and head-start them at Zoo Knoxville.
GABRIELLE GRAETER/NCWRC
GABRIELLE GRAETER/NCWRC
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