June 07, 2025
Local News | Prairie Advocate
Local News

Jr. Stewards get a taste of turtle research at the Thomson Causeway

By BY TOM
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Jr. Stewards count the eggs just laid by Painted Turtle #1112.8, the name of a big female that has nested before at the Thomson Causeway Recreation Area. The group observed TREE member Daniela Flores as she counted the eggs – 12 of them – and weighed and measured each one, then gingerly replaced them in the nest, before releasing 1112.8 back to the Mississippi River on Saturday. (PA photos/Tom Kocal)

THOMSON — The Jr. Stewards, a youth program offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with the Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge, joined students from the Turtle Camp Research and Education in Ecology program as they study turtles at Thomson Causeway Recreation Area on the Mississippi River this summer.

Jeremy Strickland, a wildlife biologist at the Refuge for 7 years, introduced the Jr. Stewards to members of the TREE program that provides high school and undergraduate students with an opportunity to conduct ecological research on organisms in their natural environments, and participate in mentoring groups like the Jr. Stewards.

Fred Janzen, a professor of ecology, evolution and organismal biology at Iowa State University, in 1995 created Turtle Camp, which gives students the chance to “get out and do science.” The students will study turtles nesting through the end of June at Thomson Causeway.

“The high school and undergraduate students get a taste of research through the TREE program,” Strickland said. “They camp in tents and cook outdoors, as they examine the effect of predators on turtle nest location and how location affects the sex of turtle offspring.”

Turtles in the wild face many challenges – so many that most species are considered endangered. Painted turtles, the primary organism studied at the Causeway, can live up to 40 years. Box turtles, snapping turtles and Blanding’s turtles can live much longer, even up to a century.

Strickland said that so far this year, more than 120 painted turtle nests have been identified in the campground area of the Causeway, but none have survived. Last year, the predation rate was 98 percent, or just two nests out of 100 survived.

“But turtles are resilient. It’s a big river!” Strickland said.

One of the more interesting characteristics of most turtles is that they have environmental sex determination linked to temperature.

Daniela Flores, a Ph.D. candidate in genetics at Iowa State University on the TREE program, said temperature determines how many male and female offspring are hatched, which directly links to whether a population will remain stable or survive.

“You could have, to the uninformed eye, a healthy population of turtles, yet you could have just one sex and because turtles are so long lived it would appear that they are fine, but they are in fact almost extinct,” she said.

Research from the TREE program advises the Iowa Department of Natural Resources on policy for turtle trapping in the state, and on reptile conservation, particularly regarding climate change. Many conservation groups also use this research in guidelines, practices and programs.

The Jr. Stewards, for kids 9 to 14, is designed to stimulate curiosity about nature, inspire lifelong learning, strengthen skills of observation, investigation, and imagination, while increasing a sense of wonder about the world around us.

“We explore the delightful marvels of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge,” said Pam Steinhaus, visitor services manager of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and director of the Jr. Stewards.

The group meets on the first Saturday of each month, beginning Feb. 6 through December, at Ingersoll Wetlands Learning Center, Thomson.

Visit the Jr. Stewards’ page at stewardsumrr.org or you can contact the refuge office at 815-273-2732, ext. 116, for more information.