Today we helped release baby spiny softshell turtles at North Hero State Park. The Echo Leahy Center for Lake Champlain and VT Fish and Wildlife have a headstart program where spiny softshell babies are raised in captivity during the winter and spring and then released in the early summer. This gives them a “head start” in life because the neonates are highly susceptible to cold and starvation during the winter months. This program helps boost the spiny softshell’s threatened population.
Spiny softshell populations suffer from habitat degradation from human development, dams, climate change, and predation. Human development can cause bank destabilization, which destroys nesting, hibernation, and basking habitat for the softshells. Dams greatly alter water temperature, flow, and levels; this may cause egg mortality and also interfere with the turtles' migration movements. Climate change also affects water temperature and water levels, which significantly threatens the future of this species. Lastly, predation by critters such as racoons and skunks increases when we leave our trash behind. Off-leash dogs are also a big problem. In this instance (and in many others), humans are exhibiting the characteristics of a highly invasive species by throwing off the balance of the ecosystem. It’s important that we look out for invasive species, but sometimes we need to look no further than the reflection in the mirror.
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