PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Western pond turtles - a species native to Oregon - will be getting a one-year federal review for possible protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Oregonian newspaper reports (https://is.gd/ggm7Sb ) the turtles are considered a sensitive/critical species under Oregon’s Conservation Strategy because of a declining population.
The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity reports there are two groups of the turtles in the Columbia Gorge and numbers in the Willamette Valley have dropped to 1 percent of historic levels.
A recent survey of 15 sites in Clackamas County found no sign of the western pond turtle.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife conservation biologist Susan Barnes called that “moderately alarming.”
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Information from: The Oregonian, https://www.oregonlive.com
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