Article

Biologists Enlist Best Noses in Town to Protect At-risk Turtles

By Wildlife Biologist Katie Smith, Golden Gate National Recreation Area; and Science Communication Specialist Jessica Weinberg McClosky, San Francisco Bay Area Inventory & Monitoring Network

Cute dog looking right at the camera with its tongue hanging out, wearing a bright orange working dog harness with a National Park Service arrowhead patch on it.
Conservation detection dog Nooch. This May and June, specially trained dogs are helping biologists find and protect vulnerable turtle nests in the park.

NPS / Katie Smith

May 2024 - We may not be able to swim around and bask in the sun every day like western pond turtles. Nor do we need to, being warm-blooded. Still, spotting a basking turtle can be a fun reminder to slow down our busy lives where we can. Thanks to park biologists and partners, visitors again have turtle-spotting opportunities in popular parts of Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Presidio of San Francisco where they had vanished. But the turtles still need help growing their numbers. Cue an unlikely conservation hero: Canis lupus familiaris, the domestic dog! This May and June, specially trained dogs are helping biologists find and protect vulnerable turtle nests in the park.

Person using two hands to gently place a turtle among the rushes at the edge of a pond.
From 2016 to 2023, Golden Gate biologists teamed up with Sonoma State University researchers and the San Francisco Zoo to raise turtles and reintroduce them back to two restored park wetlands.

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Western pond turtles are California’s only native freshwater turtle, and a state species of special concern. They’re also under review for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Populations have declined steeply as they lost much of their wetland habitat to development. Disease and invasive species like red-eared sliders and American bullfrogs also threaten turtles.

So in 2015 Presidio biologists teamed up with Sonoma State University researchers and the San Francisco Zoo to reintroduce western pond turtles into Mountain Lake. And from 2016 to 2023, Golden Gate biologists got the team back together to give the turtles another boost. They raised the turtles at the zoo and reintroduced them back to two restored park wetlands. Now the challenge is getting populations big enough to be self-sustaining. Nest survival is the biggest barrier. On average, mammals like skunk, fox, and raccoon eat 80 percent of western pond turtle nests within the first few days of eggs being laid. Park biologists wondered if trained dogs could help them find turtle nests first.

Smith, in uniform, kneeling in the grass and holding out a fist to their dog Nooch, who, sitting to face them, lifts her paw in response.
Wildlife Biologist Katie Smith and their dog Nooch. In 2023, biologists began consulting with K9inScentive to assemble conservation detection dog teams to locate turtle nests.

NPS / Wendy Baker

Other groups have successfully trained and deployed conservation detection dogs for a variety of tasks. Dogs have helped sniff out plant pathogens, invasive mussels, critically endangered insects, and scat and tracks from all sorts of rare and threatened animals. In 2023, the biologists began consulting with K9inScentive to assemble conservation detection dog teams to locate turtle nests.
Shepherd on leash with its handler sniffing in between grasses and dandelions on a hillside overlooking a wetland.
Volunteer Elizabeth Merritt and Sequoia. Each conservation detection dog team consists of a dog and their owner/trainer/handler.

NPS / Katie Smith

Person in a National Park Service volunteer hat holding a brown dog on a leash as it faces the camera and sniffs up into the air.
Volunteer Ashley Hisey and Peaks. After initial evaluations and one year of training, teams completed rigorous odor recognition tests and field trials. Then they were ready for their first turtle nest surveys.

NPS / Wendy Baker

Each team consists of a dog and their handler. There are four teams: Golden Gate Wildlife Biologist Katie Smith and their dog Nooch, and three incredible, dedicated volunteers and their working dogs Peaks, Walnut, and Sequoia. After initial evaluations and one year of training, teams completed rigorous odor recognition tests and field trials. Then they were ready for their first turtle nest surveys.

Throughout the months of May and June, dog teams will be searching for nests at Muir Beach, Mountain Lake, and near Tomales Bay. When teams find nests, biologists will record them and use wire mesh and stakes to protect them from digging predators. This year is a trial year for this novel monitoring and conservation technique. If all goes well, dog teams will assist during future seasons to count and protect turtle nests.

Four photos of dogs wearing bright orange harnesses, with the dogs names overlaid. Clockwise from the top left: Sequoia laying in the grass, Peaks in profile, Walnut sitting on a log, and Nooch catching a toy mid-air. A baby turtle photo is in the middle.
The four trained "turtle dogs." Throughout the months of May and June, these dogs will be searching for western pond turtle nests at Muir Beach, Mountain Lake, and near Tomales Bay with their human trainers/handlers.

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For more information

Acknowledgements

Park staff would like to thank Ashley Hisey, Jennie Keifer, Elizabeth Merritt, and their incredible dogs for their service. Their tireless efforts, dedication, and enthusiasm have made this project possible.

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Tags

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore, Presidio of San Francisco