July 26, 2023 – The Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation has partnered with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, with support from Veolia North America, to utilize its Conservation Dogs Program to locate and survey for native turtles in the County.
You may also watch the remarks and demonstration video on YouTube.
Monitoring and protecting native turtles’ habitats are vital as over half of New York’s native freshwater turtle species have special conservation designations. The Conservation Dogs are trained to sniff out wild turtles and alert the handler to the location. Once turtles are located, parks staff can take necessary steps to protect the area, including scheduling the mowing of fields to not conflict with their use of grassy areas. Furthermore, this program helps to gather critical data on turtle populations, nesting sites and habitat usage.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said, “This initiative is extremely important to the natural world of Westchester County as turtles contribute to the health of a variety of environments. I’m thrilled the Parks Department is taking these necessary steps to maintain the safety of the native turtles.”
Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation Commissioner, Kathy O’Connor, said, “Our Conservation Division has always taken the necessary steps to conserve our environment in the most efficient and innovative of ways. I’m delighted that the division is putting Westchester County on the map in utilizing this first-of-its-kind tactic.”
"The Trail Conference is thrilled to collaborate with Westchester County Parks and Veolia North America on this critical initiative,” said New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Executive Director Josh Howard. “The Conservation Dogs Program is the Trail Conference's latest tool to provide people with access to sustainable and healthy trails while also promoting and protecting healthy ecosystems, ensuring that we can all enjoy our journey into nature.”
This program is currently deployed in several Westchester County Parks.