Registration begins at the Elachee Nature Center.
Feel free to enjoy the outdoor trails and begin submitting items for the Lucille F. Stickel auction.

Registration continues at the Elachee Nature Center. Appetizers and drinks will be available for evening socializing. Participants are welcome to hang out on the patio and explore the animal room at Elachee Nature Center. 

In honor of the life and work of Lucille F. Stickel, the North American Box Turtle Conservation Committee has established the Lucille F. Stickel Box Turtle Research Award. This award supports conservation projects and research on North American Box Turtles in the following categories: natural history, ecology, conservation, reproduction, and epidemiology.

Donations are accepted to be auctioned off in a silent auction on Saturday. All proceeds go to the Lucille F. Stickel fund. Cash & checks, and Venmo for credit cards, will be accepted for winning bids.

More information provided HERE!

 Attendees are invited to check in, socialize, and begin surveying the silent auction items. 

Welcoming comments and keynote speaker introduction. 

Dave Collins will provide the keynote address focusing on Terrapene under the new Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. David Collins is the Director of North American Turtle Conservation with the Turtle Survival Alliance, and the Leader of the American Turtles Program for SAFE.


It’s easy to be depressed when looking at the conditions facing one of our most familiar and favored North American turtles, the box turtle. They have suffered affronts through both historic and recent times. The loss and fragmentation of their habitat began when the first humans arrived in North America and has accelerated ever since, representing undoubtedly the greatest cause for their decline. As both humans and turtles vied for the same preferred environments, the turtle was clearly the loser. As woodlands, wetlands and grasslands were converted for human purposes, not only was the physical space lost, but with that came a myriad of human threats from bulldozers and automobiles, lawnmowers, dogs, and kids, and the list goes on. At the same time, these small, colorful, and endearing animals were coveted as pets and tens of thousands of them entered the domestic and international pet trade, first legally and now as the most numerous species in the illegal trade in North American turtles.

So, where is their reason for hope?

In searching for that answer, two things emerged and converged.

First, Jane Goodall’s Four Reasons for Hope; the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people, and the indomitable human spirit.

And second, the many individuals, organizations, and institutions, many represented at this Workshop, actively engaged in box turtle conservation that amplify each of those four reasons.

Snacks and beverages will be available. Please submit bids for the silent auction items.  

10:00-10:15     Louisa Collins*, JJ Apodaca, and Alex Krohn    
Left Holding the Box: Creating a Genetic Database to Return Seized Box Turtles to the Wild

10:20-10:35     Ryan J. Rimple*, Brian M. Shamblin, Kurt A. Buhlmann, Olin E. Rhodes, Michel T. Kohl, and Tracey D. Tuberville
Genetic Parentage of Hatchling Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in a Mixed Population of Translocated and Resident Turtles

10:40-10:55     Bradley D. Johnson, Thomas M. Kay, Brigham J. Anderson, Brian L. Dobbels, Daren A. Glore, Jacob T. Penrose, and Bradley E. Carlson*
Sample Storage Conditions, Sex, and Individual Identity Affect Assays of Innate Immunity in Eastern Box Turtles

11:00-11:15     Steven Kimble*, Jace Geiger, Matt Allender and Laura Adamovicz
The Cloacal Microbiome in Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina): Characterizing Demographic and Environmental Associations

11:20-11:35     John H. Roe* and Kathryn Davis
An Omnivore’s Dilemma: Using Stable Isotopes to Examine the Foraging Ecology of Two Eastern Box Turtle Populations in North Carolina

11:40-11:55     Tracey D. Tuberville*, Stephanie Foertmeyer and Joseph C. Mitchell
Multi-Year Analysis of Parentage in a Captive Eastern Box Turtle Population: Implications of Using Captive Assurance Colonies for Reintroduction Programs

Lunch will be provided.

1:00-1:15     Keetan Munsell*    
Examining the Reproductive Ecology of the Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) in Western Nebraska

1:20-1:35     Abigail Trautman*
Repeatability and Distribution of Behavior Types over Time and across Populations in Free Ranging Adult and Juvenile Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata)

1:40-1:55     Julie Lisk, Bryan S. Windmiller and Cara McElroy*
Demographics and Movement Patterns of Adult and Headstarted Juvenile Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina) near the Northern Limit of the Species Range in Massachusetts

2:00-2:15     Alex Heeb* and Christine Light
Box Turtle Races at Fairs and Festivals: A Conservation Threat to North American Turtles?

2:20-2:35     Kiyoshi Sasaki*, Noah C. Wilkes and Brooke T. Darr
Impacts of Introduced Plants on Habitat Use of Woodland Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Snacks and beverages will be available. Please submit bids for the silent auction items.

2:50-3:05 Michelle Weaver*, John Hewlett, Sharon L. Deem, Jamie Palmer, Maris Brenn-White, Kathleen Apakupakul, Alex Heeb, Christine Light, Christine Casey and Andrea Darracq
Assessing the Health and Behavioral Effects of Turtle Racing on Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina)

3:10-3:25 Maxwell Earle, Jessica Meck, Travis Gallo and Thomas Akre*
Co-development of Best Practices for Woodland Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) Conservation in Northern Virginia

3:30-3:45 Castañeda Gaytán Gamaliel*, Craig Stanford, Jorge Ernesto Becerra-López, Arturo Carrillo-Reyes, Sara Isabel Valenzuela-Ceballos, Miguel Borja and Italia García.
Habitat Loss of the Endemic Turtles of Cuatro Ciénegas Coahuila

3:50-4:15 Matthew C. Allender*, Maris J. Daleo and Laura A. Adamovicz
Ill-Effects of Confiscation Events in Box Turtles (Terrapene sp.) and Possible Solutions to Combat Disease Events

Final Bids will be accepted for 15 minutes after the completion of the last talk.
Please check your bids to see if you won!

The poster session will take place at Liquid Nation Brewing, a family-friendly, local microbrewery, where, in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance, we will host a Drink Beer. Save Turtles.®️ event. Join us for an evening of education and socializing!

Posters

Alisha M. Paul*, Natalie L. Hyslop, Evan C. Lampert, James T. Diggs and Jennifer L. Mook
Preliminary Analysis of Fecal Samples Collected from Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in Northeast Georgia

Natalie L. Hyslop* and Jennifer L. Mook*
Microhabitat Use of Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in Northeastern Georgia

Brianna Wilson* and Samantha Kim
Field and Lab Behavioral Consistencies and Mirror Responses of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) in Nebraska

Samantha Kim*
A Comparison of Corticosterone Levels over Time and across Populations in Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata)

Zoe Edlund* and Timothy Speer
A Determination of Burrow Characteristics as Predictors of Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) Inhabitancy in Western Nebraska

Timothy Speer*
Movement Ecology of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) across Different Life Stages

Elijah A. Greene*, Justin T. Lewis* and Bradley E. Carlson
Testing for Top-Down Ecological Effects of Eastern Box Turtles

Emma Rogers* and Kyle Barrett*
Has the Eastern Box Turtle Adjusted to City Living? Habitat Selection of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) Across a Developmental Gradient

* - Denotes anticipated presenter.

Attendees are invited to explore the Tumbling Creek Woods at the University of North Georgia. Radiotelemetry techniques will be demonstrated. Lunch will be provided.