Overview
The Blanding's turtle is a medium-sized, semi-aquatic freshwater turtle that inhabits wetlands in parts of the upper Midwest, New England and southern Canada, including Nova Scotia.
We are working with partners on efforts to support conservation of the Blanding's turtle, including by giving hatchlings a "head start." As part of their coursework, students at Bristol County Agricultural High School in Massachusetts raise hatchling Blanding's turtles in captivity until they are large enough to survive predation, and then release them back into the wild on national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge lands.
We are reviewing the status of the Blanding's turtle to determine if it warrants Endangered Species Act listing.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Habitat
Blanding’s turtles inhabit shallow wetlands with clean, slow-moving waters and abundant vegetation. Compared to other aquatic turtles, Blanding's turtles are known to travel long distances - often more than a mile - in search of suitable ephemeral pool habitats for breeding and feeding. Because of their movement patterns, Blanding's turtles require larger landscapes than many other turtle species, making them especially vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and degradation. Moving across the landscape means these turtles are forced to cross busy roads, where they risk deadly encounters with cars. Like many turtle species, Blanding’s turtles are also threatened by illegal collection.
Life Cycle
Blanding's turtles can live up to 70 years. They have life history characteristics that are comparable to sea turtles and tortoises.
Blanding's turtles don’t tend to reproduce until they’re more than 20 years old. Females lay six to 25 eggs in late spring to early summer that hatch after 65 to 90 days. Adults often must reproduce for their entire lives for just one or two of their hatchlings to survive to adulthood as well, and replace them in the population. As a result, populations of Blanding's turtles are extremely sensitive to the loss of adults, whether from mortality or illegal collection.
Geography
Watch for Blanding’s turtles in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Timeline
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