The San Juan County Community Development and Planning Department and local conservation groups would like anyone who spots a western pond turtle to report the sighting.

The county is required to protect habitat for endangered species that live here and the western pond turtle is having a tough time hanging on. If at all possible, please take a picture to help with identification.

Sightings of the species (Clemmys marmorata) have been reported, but not confirmed in San Juan County. The highly aquatic turtle occurs in streams, ponds, lakes, and permanent and ephemeral wetlands. Although pond turtles spend much of their lives in water, they require terrestrial habitats for nesting. They also often spend winter on land, disperse via overland routes, and may spend part of the warmest months in aestivation on land.

A captive breeding program has been underway to build a population of turtles for release into suitable Washington habitat. A head-start program is being used to enhance the survival of hatchling turtles from wild nests. Control of introduced predators and habitat enhancement efforts are ongoing where western pond turtle populations are found. The western pond turtle has been extirpated from most of its range in Washington.

The total number of western pond turtles in known Washington populations is estimated at only 250 to 350, approximately half of which went through the head-start program at the Woodland Park Zoo.

The species requires a continued recovery program to ensure its survival in this state.