Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for July–September 2025
Working to Restore Bogs in Western North Carolina by Gabrielle Graeter, Reptile Biologist, Western Region; and Rosie Ronca, Wildlife Diversity Technician
T he bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is both a feder- ally (T-S/A) and state Threatened species in North Car- olina. One of the major threats to this species is historical habitat loss and degradation of their habitat—mountain bogs—from incompatible farming and land development. To counteract this habitat loss, our team plans both small and large restoration projects each year to improve wetland hydrology, maintain open-canopy habitats, and remove non-native invasive plant species. This September, we assisted with a long-term stream and wetland restoration project being led by a private landowner in western NC. The goal of this restoration project is to improve and increase the amount of bog habitat for the resident bog turtle popula- tion. We will accomplish this by restoring the heavily incised stream and headcut channels in the bog, thereby improving the hydrology of the exisiting bog and increasing the amount of wetland habitat. From September 15-19, 2025, our NCWRC western rep- tile team, 10 additional NCWRC staff members, and volun- teers from the Amphibian Reptile Conservancy (ARC), joined the landowner at his property to work on this project. Major tasks included brush-cutting along the stream bank, setting up small dams upstream of the bog, and running pipe to temporarily route water around the stream restoration area, and gathering brush and rocks to use in the new stream bed. We also searched the stream for bog turtles and any other living wildlife before starting work with heavy machin- ery. We relocated hundreds of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and crayfish from the stream to unaffected habitat. In total, the group worked more than 300 hours in five days on this project. We installed three log sills, raised the streambed elevation in the main stream, and assembled materials for the remaining work to be completed by the landowner this fall. This stream restoration work will safe- guard the integrity of this wetland and benefit the bog turtle population, as well as the greater wetland community.
GABRIELLE GRAETER/NCWRC
Above: Examples of animals captured and relocated nearby from the stream before restoration work included an Eastern box turtle, common snapping turtle, Northern water snake, multiple salamander species, crayfish, fish, and invertebrates. Below: Landowner operating a tractor to move soil, rocks, and woody brush into an incised stream to stabilize and raise the stream bed elevation. The water pooling in the right fore- ground of this image shows the new height of the stream bed leading up to the recently installed log sill (near front wheel of tractor). All work was completed according to required state and federal permits.
GABRIELLE GRAETER/NCWRC
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