Zelva was one of the first of 63 Blanding’s turtles adopted through a new Kane County Forest Preserve Foundation program designed to help the animals thrive in a bustling suburban environment.
Blanding’s turtles can live a long life — up to 75 years. However, due to “mortality on roads, illegal collection from the wild, development, reduction of habitat, nest destruction by raccoons and other predators, there has been a decline in the population in this area,” according to Wildlife Biologist Bill Graser with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.
Development in the area has been a threat to the turtles’ existence, he said.
“More than 80 percent of wetlands that were once present in the area were drained when the region was settled and converted to farmland,” he said. “In modern times the remaining wetlands continue to be lost to suburban development. Even if they are not totally destroyed, wetlands are often degraded heavily because developments are often built almost up to the edges of the wetland.”
The population declined so much that Blanding’s turtles had been listed as threatened in Illinois in 1998 and designated as endangered in the state in 2009, Graser added.
That is why the foundation began its program for the turtles. Naming rights are part of the new adoption program which Graser is quick to point out is a “ceremonious adoption in name only.”
“People won’t actually be going home with turtles,” he added.
However, with a donation, supporters will receive naming rights of the turtle, a certificate of adoption and a Blanding’s turtle baseball cap for their donation.
The money raised will be used for field supplies and technology to further aid in the study of the turtles.
Zelva was “adopted” by Gilberts resident Jen Schorsch, who chose “the name Zelva because it is Czech for turtle.”
Schorsch said her son, Jayson, who plans on studying conservation in college, completed his Eagle Scout Project restoring a monarch butterfly habitat at a Kane County Forest Preserve.
“We saw the Kane Forest Preserve Foundation’s new Adopt a Turtle program pop on my Facebook page, we thought it was a neat thing, and I had never heard of Blanding’s turtles,” she added.
Already, other Blanding’s turtles have received names such as Emily Emydidae, Tiki 2, and Lily Abigail, named for Kane County Forest Preserve President Mike Kenyon’s new granddaughter.
In addition to the adoption program, Kane County made its first attempt this year to incubate turtle eggs at its own facility.
“One hundred percent of the eggs we incubated hatched,” Graser said.
Graser said that “in previous years, when we had eggs to incubate we received help from the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and the staff at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center.”
Blanding’s turtles are an important part of the environment, he said.
“If we have places in Kane County that provide a high quality habitat that can support robust populations of Blanding’s turtles, many other species will benefit from the protection and enhancement of these areas,” he said. “They can be considered an umbrella species if you are supporting a healthy population.”
For more information on the Kane Forest Preserve Foundation’s Adopt a Turtle program, go to http://bit.ly/KaneAdoptATurtleFlyer or call 630-232-5980.
Cathy Janek is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
