Conservation Dogs to Detect Blanding’s Turtle Nests prior to Road Rehabilitation Activities

Blanding’s Turtles nest in the granular shoulders of roadways, burying eggs beneath the ground surface. Visual detection of nests is not possible. Highway rehabilitation can damage or destroy eggs from May 21 to October 31. Detection dogs were trained in Ontario to locate Blanding’s Turtles nests, a federally and provincially listed Species at Risk, along roadways. This work contributes directly to environmental protection during road infrastructure renewal and conservation of species at risk turtles.