The Crest at Willow-Witt

Western pond turtles are native to much of the Pacific coast region but have become more rare as wetlands are lost to development and climate change. Willow-Witt Ranch has enhanced and protected a wetland that supports one of the highest elevation breeding populations of these turtles. The SFF funded a project to improve the conditions of the turtles’ habitat by constructing basking platforms, removing non-native plants, and creating a blind so that researchers could observe turtle behavior without disturbance.