Why has the Bog Turtle population
Declined?

WETLAND LOSS AND ALTERATION
- Drainage ditches, drain tiles, and
fill materials dry out the wetlands
- Dams and pond excavation makes the
sites too wet
- Drainage from development contains
toxic runoff which kills the turtles
- Storm runoff from adjoining pastures
contains nutrient overload from the manure
- Runoff from the agriculture contains
pharmaceuticals used to treat cattle and horses which is toxic
- Storm runoff from pastures fills in
the bog with sediment silt
- Bogs are allowed to become overgrown
with trees which displace the native grasses
- Overgrazing causes erosion, destroys
turtle eggs, and fattens adults
- Exotic vegetation and excessive shrub
and tree growth dry up the site or block sunlight
POACHING
- Due to their size, beauty, and
rarity, bog turtles are illegally collected and sold in the pet trade here and
abroad.
It’s against Maryland law to take bog
turtles from the wild.
POPULATION ISOLATION
- When wetland habitats and the streams
that connect them are destroyed, altered, or surrounded by man-made
structures, the remaining fragments of habitat may be isolated from one
another. The turtles are essentially marooned on these habitats like islands
in the sea. Isolated populations are prone to extinction, less resilient to
disease, and subject to inbreeding depression.
- The Maryland DNR has set aside
certain protected areas for the Bog turtles, but they need causeways or
wildlife corridors which allow them to mingle with one another in order to
maintain genetic diversity.


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