Western Painted Turtle Recovery in Lower Mainland Watersheds

Over 300 western painted turtles have been released in Lower Mainland watersheds to help support the province’s only remaining freshwater turtle, which is federally listed as Threatened and provincially Red-listed. The turtles were “head started,” which means they were raised in captivity until they reached a size that makes them less susceptible to predation.

As part of this project, led by the South Coast Western Painted Turtle Recovery Group with funding from the FWCP, 134 head-started turtles were released at four sites, four nesting beaches were maintained, and nine basking logs were installed or reset. Over 100 juvenile turtles that were collected as eggs are in captivity to get a head-start before being released. Other monitored nests were left on site, protected, and will be monitored into next spring.

More: COA-F21-W-3295