DES MOINES, Iowa — 57 baby Blanding turtles have been taken in by the Blank Park Zoo as part of a statewide conservation effort with Iowa State and Iowa DNR.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) kickstarted the project several years ago with a grant proposal that would work towards restoring diminished prairie habitats and help support the regrowth of the Iowa Blanding turtle population.

“Our job at DNR is to provide the proper habitat, to make sure that they have the home that they need, that they have enough area, the right amount of water, the right amount of prairie to survive into the future, hopefully,” said Karen Kinkead, the Wildlife Diversity Coordinator for the Iowa DNR.

The DNR then brought in Iowa State University research students to help them gather information on the turtles and their habitats. The researchers began observing prairie habitats and the movement and lifestyle of the Blandings turtle.

“So, I go out at sites owned by the DNR in central Iowa and I physically catch them, we bring them back to our lab, said Lizzy Lang, a graduate research student studying natural resources and ecology at Iowa State University. “Then we measure them, we weigh them, age and sex them. Then we actually put transmitters on them so that we can track them. Once we collect all that data, we bring it back to the lab and I analyze it to look at different patterns in their movements”.

This research is then given back to the DNR so they can take the proper steps to restore prominent Blanding turtle habitats. But restoring the habitats isn’t enough, they also need to rekindle the dwindling Blanding population.

The Iowa State researchers rounded up five Blanding turtles and brought them to the Blank Park Zoo where they were able to hatch 57 Blanding turtle babies. The mothers were returned to their habitat, but the babies will continue to grow and mature at the Blank Park Zoo.

“Our job here is to take care of them, make sure they have food and good clean water, and that they just grow without any worries about predation or anything, bad weather, climate change, anything like that,” said Chris Eckles, the Chief Engagement Officer at the Blank Park Zoo.

Taking in baby animals so that they have a chance to grow and develop without danger is called “headstarting” and it gives the hatchlings a better chance at survival in nature. These turtles will also be tagged so that the researchers can continue to gather information and monitor the turtles and their environment.

Though conservation efforts are a good start, raising awareness can help spread further change in communities. To help spread awareness for the Blanding turtle conservation efforts, the Blank Park Zoo hosted Discover the Wild: Turtle’s. Families were able to learn about Blanding turtles, their habitats, and why their conservation is important to Iowa.

“We want people to learn about turtles, about organizations like the DNR and Iowa State and other organizations that are working for turtle conservation and do activities and kind of just get to learn and have fun,” said Eckles.

“Turtles act as a key predator in wetlands for smaller species, they are also a prey items for larger species. So, they really help maintain the health of wetland ecosystems,” said Lang. “Wetlands are super important to help with water quality in Iowa, which is also important to Iowans”

The Blanding hatchlings will continue to grow at Blank Park till they are about 3-4 inches large. Right now, the turtles are on track to be released back into their habitats in the spring of 2025.