Bog Turtle Talk Wednesday Night At Monmouth County Audubon

RED BANK, NJ — The Monmouth County Audubon Society next meets this Wednesday night, Feb. 13, where zoologist Bill Pitts will present his program, “The Bog Turtle: New Jersey’s State Reptile."

The public is welcome; admission is free. The talk begins at 8 p.m. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month September through May at the Tower Hill Church, 255 Harding Road, Red Bank; guest speakers address a wide variety of nature-related topics, and refreshments are provided.

The Bog Turtle was named New Jersey’s State Reptile on June 18, 2018, following a successful petition campaign begun by science students from the Riverside Elementary School in Princeton, who were concerned with the turtle’s threatened status.

The NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Program estimates that there are fewer than 2,000 of these inhabitants of groundwater-fed freshwater wetlands left in the state. Once abundant in New Jersey, this secretive, palm-sized turtle is found today only in rural areas such as Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon and Salem counties.

Learn all about this charismatic creature’s natural history in New Jersey and conservationists’ ongoing effort to protect the Bog Turtle and increase its habitat and population in this entertaining program.

Bill Pitts, Assistant Zoologist with NJ Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Non-Game Species program, returns to MCAS following his well-received program on the American Kestrel, presented last year. Bill Pitts has been an Assistant Zoologist with NJ Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Non-Game Species program since 2005.

The Monmouth County Audubon Society, a chapter of the National Audubon Society, is dedicated to the enjoyment and study of nature, wildlife conservation, habitat protection, and education. In addition, the group sponsors at least one field trip per month, and members receive The Osprey, the club's newsletter. Further information can be obtained by visiting the organization's website at http://www.monmouthaudubon.org, or via e-mail at info@monmouthaudubon.org.

Photo via Monmouth County Audubon.