Projects in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina with boggy, grassy areas fed by groundwater may be required to look for the small freshwater bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii). Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI) biologists can conduct habitat evaluations and presence/absence surveys, and can provide regulatory management for projects where the bog turtles or their habitat are likely to be present.
Habitat studies can be completed year-round and provided to regulatory agencies for review. Presence/absence surveys in suitable habitat are typically conducted between April and early June, depending on the location and the regulatory agency requesting the investigation, which may be the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or a state wildlife department.
Where Do Bog Turtles Live?
Bog turtles inhabit wet grassy areas (such as pastures and meadows) and shallow, slow flowing, mucky rivulets of seeps and ditches.
Populations have historically been distributed from northern Georgia through the mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia, and then central Maryland, Delaware, all of New Jersey, and parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and into Vermont.
WSSI Can Help!
WSSI staff have conducted bog turtle studies with regulatory agency approval, and can provide investigations for your project, along with regulatory agency coordination. Keep your project on schedule by conducting habitat studies, where warranted, and species presence studies when needed.
To learn more, contact your WSSI project manager or the staff listed below.
Map from McKercher, E., 2024, Glyptemys muhlenbergii (Schoepff, 1801): U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL, at
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1235, Revision Date: 10/21/2019, Access Date: 4/15/2024