58 Nebraskaland • June 2025
THE LAST STOP
While running the trails near Chadron State College's
Briggs Pond in October, my neighbor Loni Watson
encountered a turtle in her path that didn't look like all
of the painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) she was so used
to seeing there.
Turns out it was a darling species of our state's
conservationists — a Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea
blandingii). The species, which seems to be thriving in the
Sandhills but hardly any other place in the world, is listed
on "tier one" among conservation needs in Nebraska's
wildlife action plan, the Natural Legacy Project, and is
rarely seen this far west.
After being told of the discovery, I remembered that
coworker Matt Steffl, a Game and Parks Commission
wildlife manager, had found a Blanding's turtle in Chadron
years earlier and released it at the one-acre pond. "Ah, it's
been rediscovered," I thought.
By examining photos of that turtle, found in 2015,
we realized the patterns of the two shells' scutes didn't
match, however. Different turtle!
Nebraska herpetologist Dan Fogell said it's the fourth
Blanding's turtle to be confirmed in Dawes County in
recent years, so he suspects the species is moving into the
region — not just being captured elsewhere and dropped
off, which is not legal. Besides the two in Chadron, one
was found a few miles southwest of the city and another
at Fort Robinson State Park.
After the turtle had become well acquainted with
the kids in the neighborhood, I was given the honor
of releasing it back to the pond. True to the species'
reputation, it was shy. My daughter and I waited an hour
and a half on the pond's bank before it stuck out its head
for a photo. Such a fine-looking turtle, it was well worth
the wait.
Blanding's turtles, which thrive in the Sandhills and hardly anywhere else, are moving westward as far as Chadron.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
By Justin Haag
BLANDING'S TURTLES ON THE MOVE?
