We are very proud to be one of the recipients of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation ‘s (NFWF) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ‘s Chesapeake Watershed Investments for Landscape Defense (WILD) grant. We were honored to be included in the public announcement at the National Aquarium in Baltimore last week with the support of our partners, supporting agencies, and congresspersons.
We will be using the two years of focused research funding to study the home range and habitat use of Wood Turtles at our long term study sites in Harford County, Maryland, so we can develop a conservation management plan for this unique population. Wood Turtles are a species in decline that has been petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act and it is important to try to better understand how these animals use the habitats they live in so that they can be managed to better suit the species into the future. It is our hope that by closely studying this population it will shed light onto how to most effectively conserve this incredible species before it is too late.
You can learn more about this important program that is making some of our work possible as well as other projects in our region here –
