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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