Biodiversity, Partnerships, Wetlands, Wildlife

Welcoming new life on a wetland

The journey of Blanding’s turtles in the Carp Hills

By Claire Foran November 20, 2024

Blanding’s turtles rely on a variety of healthy wetland habitats, including marshes, swamps and ponds to survive.

In 2018, Ducks Unlimited Canada came together with partners to help ensure that a 440-acre (178-hectare) property in Ottawa’s Carp Hills remained a haven for wildlife and people. Now, six years later, local wildlife has shown us just how vital the ecosystems we protect are to their growing population.

Considered an ecological jewel, Carp Hills is renowned for its high biodiversity of floral and fauna, including species at risk like the Blanding’s turtle who rely on a variety of healthy wetland habitats, including marshes, swamps and ponds to survive. When we acquired a portion of this landscape, we wanted to create natural corridors that connected wildlife habitats through the mix of forest, Precambrian rock barrens, and wetland complexes found in the area.

A rich wetland habitat inside the DUC Carp Hills property. © DUC

The Blanding’s turtles are not just a part of the story; they are its main characters. Due to their emergence in the area, our co-land managers, Friends of the Carp Hills, have run an incredible turtle conservation program for the past three years. Recently, they partnered with the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) and freshwater turtle specialist, Dave Seburn, to collect eggs from high-priority species like the Blanding’s turtle. These eggs are incubated at CWF’s facility in the west end of Ottawa before being released back into suitable wetland habitats near the nest site. The eggs are also carefully labelled so that they can be returned to their source wetland or pond area.

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Blanding’s Turtles make use of a number of wetlands over the course of the active season, wandering overland between waterbodies. You can’t just protect one wetland to help a population. The wetlands that DUC have protected in this area are critical to the population surviving in the long term

Dave Seburn, biologist and freshwater turtle specialist, Canadian Wildlife Federation

The success of this program was realized in early August when two groups of these Blanding’s turtle hatchlings were released into the marshes on the DUC property to begin their new lives. These hatchlings were collected from two nearby private properties, and in a heartwarming full-circle moment, one family whose backyards had served as the turtles’ nesting spots were able to see them off to their forever home.

Dave Seburn, biologist and turtle specialist for the Canadian Wildlife Federation, guiding local community members on the release of turtle hatchlings. © Friends of the Carp Hills

You may be wondering: why are turtles laying eggs in the Village of Carp instead of by the wetland? According to our partners at Friends of the Carp Hills, it seems history and habit explain this behavior. They believe that turtles have been laying their eggs in this region long before houses were built in the Inniskillin and Glenncastle area in the 1990s. With an impressive life expectancy of 80 years, Blanding’s turtles have developed nesting habits that predate the area’s infrastructural changes. On top of that, the soft soil and full sun found in the backyards are important for proper incubation. When the houses were built, peoples’ gardens continued to provide good nesting locations, and the turtles continued to lay their eggs there.

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This year, the enthusiasm from neighbourhoods bordering the Carp Hills has been amazing. The Friends of the Carp Hills have received numerous requests from property owners excited to help and asking how they can support turtles nesting on their land. Everyone—parents, kids, and neighbors—wants to pitch in! It’s so heartwarming to see our efforts making such a meaningful difference.

Bernard Proulx, Friends of the Carp Hills trail coordinator

Collaboration is central to conservation success stories like this. Ducks Unlimited Canada’s protection of the Carp Hills property was made possible through strong partnerships, and the community’s support has helped guide the turtles to a thriving habitat. Thank you to all the partners, neighbors, experts and volunteers who dedicated their time to this vital effort. We look forward to more wins from the wetlands!

The full group of community members who helped with the turtle hatchlings release in Carp Hills. © Friends of the Carp Hills

Please note that it is illegal in Ontario to collect turtle eggs. The Canadian Wildlife Federation has a permit from the province to implement their conservation programming. If you find a turtle nest of your property, please visit https://ontarioturtle.ca/nest for more information.

You can help wildlife on your land

Are you a rural landowner in Ontario looking to create a wildlife habitat on your property to support species like the Blanding’s turtle? We can help.

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