hen herpetologist and Local Land Services officer Marty Dillon walked into a UNE laboratory in 2015 looking for incubators to hatch turtle eggs, he sparked a project that spread across the region, across interest groups, and across the years. All to save a seldom-seen turtle from extinction. The Bell’s turtle is unique to the rivers of the Northern Tablelands, and it is in trouble. Foxes raid more than 97 percent of Bell’s turtle nests. In 2022, the species’ conservation status was elevated from vulnerable to endangered. “In some catchments, particularly the Border Rivers, we’re seeing only aging populations,” said Associate Professor Eric Nordberg, a UNE herpetologist. “The juvenile and in-between ages are missing. Once those older turtles are gone, without intervention, the population will continue to decline into extinction.” In 2015, Marty Dillon was hunting for incubators because the near-extinction of the Bellinger River turtle from an unknown virus was fresh in the minds of turtle lovers. In that year, in his capacity as Senior Land Services Officer with the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services (LLS), Marty established (and still manages) a project called Turtles Forever. LLS has since won $431,000 in funding for the project, which has grown into a remarkable collaboration between 92 landholders, five Indigenous corporations, government, turtle ecologists, and university researchers and students. Turtles Forever aims to give Bell’s turtles a better chance at survival. Eggs are taken from wild nests and incubated and hatched at UNE. The hatchlings are cared for over a few weeks, then released when they have the mobility to escape predators. Dr Lou Streeting has been the driving force behind the project’s on-the-ground conservation success. While completing her doctorate at UNE, Lou pioneered the techniques to locate and protect nests in the wild and developed protocols for hormonally inducing wild-caught females to lay eggs for incubation in the lab at UNE. Half of the 8,000 hatchlings began as eggs incubated in the lab, bypassing fox predation. The remaining 4,000 came from wild nests that Lou and the Turtles Forever team protected on the riverbanks using wire mesh and fox-deterrent fencing. “We suspect these turtles can live to beyond 100 years of age,” said Lou. “Once females reach maturity at 20 years, they lay a clutch of eggs every year for the next 80 years or so. By releasing pulses of hatchlings, we are aiming for some to survive to maturity and replenish the breeding population. Until then, ongoing intervention is needed to keep Bell’s turtles in our waterways.” And how is the project going? “Measuring the success of hatchling recruitment programs for long-lived species takes time,” said Marty. “Our data aren’t yet robust enough for a full statistical trend, but we have a strong sense that those juveniles are out there. The proportion of juveniles we catch that have come from our program is high, suggesting that we are making a real difference.” During her PhD, Lou also trialled raising hatchlings to 12 months of age prior to release, with much higher recapture rates than hatchlings released at just a few months old. Some of those turtles are now seven-years-old, and thriving. UNE and LLS are now working towards securing funding for a dedicated “turtle hub” that will allow hatchlings to be raised for longer before release, increasing their chances of survival. “Our dream is for the turtle hub to be a place for turtle outreach, community involvement, and research for many turtle species.” Even as the long-term fate of the Bell’s turtle remains uncertain, the commitment of those involved has not wavered. “Everyone involved is absolutely passionate about saving this turtle,” said Marty. “My respect for people just keeps going up and up.” W Page 19 To learn more about Bell’s turtle conservation follow the Turtles Forever Facebook page facebook.com/bellsturtles If you think you may have Bell’s turtles on your property and would like to be involved, contact Northern Tablelands Local Land Services. Funding acknowledgments: This project is jointly funded by the Australian Government, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services (a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel), and the University of New England. This project has also been assisted by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust. UNE has been central to a unique community conservation program that has released more than 8,000 turtle hatchlings into local waterways.
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