There are two species of freshwater turtles native to Oregon: the western pond turtle and the western painted turtle. Warm spring weather is a perfect time to spot Oregon's native turtles basking on logs or rocks in their aquatic habitats. This is the breeding season for these turtles, so you may see female turtles emerging from ponds to find a spot where they will dig their nests and lay their eggs. Be on the lookout for turtles crossing the road; sometimes females will travel a long distance from ponds to deposit their eggs.

Both of these native turtle species are Oregon Conservation Strategy Species, and face a wide variety of conservation threats, including habitat loss and invasive species. Biologists in Oregon, Washington, and California have been working to map the current distribution of western pond turtles, and need your help! Have you seen turtles basking on a log in a pond or a turtle digging a nest on land? Snap a picture from a safe distance away, document the location, and add it to our project! You can also visit the iNaturalist project Western Pond Turtles in Oregon. Data collected describing the current distribution of this species helps biologists identify priority conservation areas that will help ensure the long term conservation of the species.

To ensure that your data can be used, make sure to add your data to the Oregon Wildlife Conservation project, or, under your project membership, select the option that allows private/obscured observation coordinates to be visible to project curators.