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Lawmakers advance resolution to recognize bog turtle amid conservation warnings
Summary
Representative Jones urged the committee to recognize the bog turtle and raise awareness; he said Tennessee's population is critically low ("only 150 left in Tennessee") and cited habitat loss and predation. Committee advanced the resolution 10-0.
Representative Jones presented HB 18-51 to designate the bog turtle as an official state recognition (resolution) and to raise awareness of its conservation needs. Jones told the committee that the bog turtle is one of North America's smallest and most imperiled turtles and that Tennessee may have as few as "150 left" statewide.
Members asked about the turtle's role in ecosystems and threats beyond development; Jones described the species as a keystone that creates tunnels and habitat used by other organisms and pointed to conservation efforts at the Knoxville Zoo. Representative Barrett noted Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency information and said the species is "very rare and imperiled." The committee advanced the measure to State and Local Government with a unanimous recommendation (10-0).
"The bog turtle is 1 of the most critically endangered species of turtle in The United States," Jones said, and he added, "There's only 150 left in Tennessee, 2,000 left in the Southeast."
