New Wood Turtle Project Underway

Great Hollow is excited to be launching a new study of wood turtles in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. The wood turtle is an imperiled freshwater turtle that is in urgent need of conservation action to reverse declines. This requires a sound understanding of where populations remain and the habitat characteristics with which they are most closely associated. Through a grant from NYSDEC and the Catskill Science Collaborative, Great Hollow will be assisting the agency in documenting the distribution and habitat associations of wood turtles in the Catskill Mountains. This region of New York contains an abundance of streams that have potential to support wood turtles, but the status of wood turtles in many Catskills stream systems is largely unknown. The information gained from the study will improve the ability of NYSDEC to protect wood turtles from encroaching development and other threats, and identify habitats to prioritize for protection and restoration.