A group of University of Northern Iowa students and their professor have been spending alot of time in the woods these days tracking an endangered species of turtle. Of the 14 kinds of turtles in Iowa, half of them are protected including the wood turtle. A grant from the U.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Division is funding the research. Biology professor Jeff Tamplin heads the effort. He looked for the wood turtle along streams and in marshes in Black Hawk and Butler counties for two years before finding the shell of a deceased one in 2003. Now, some 12 years later, he and his assistants have identified 118 turtles.
Trackin' Turtles
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Turtle trackers (left to right) Nick Schemmel, Sam Berg, Buzzard, the turtle sniffing dog, Jeremy George, Anthony DiFronzo and Professor Jeff Tamplin (team member Joshua Otten not pictured)
IPR's Pat Blank
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Taking measurements (left to right) Nick Schemmel and Jeremy George
IPR's Pat Blank
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On the creek bank Nick Schemmel, Professor Jeff Tamplin and Buzzard
IPR's Pat Blank
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Wood turtle IA 67 also known as Broom Hilda. She's believed to be between 30 and 35 years old. She was fitted with a removable radio transmitter in 2009.
IPR's Pat Blank
