Western Painted Turtle – State Wildlife Action Plan

Western Painted Turtle on a log — Photo Credit: Keith Kohl, ODFW

Western painted turtles are one of Oregon’s two native freshwater turtle species, named for their bright, colorful markings. Their plastron (the underside of their shell) is bright red or orange. Each individual has a unique black pattern on their plastron. Their smooth, relatively flat carapace (upper shell) is dark green, brown, or black overall. The margin of the shell is smooth, typically with bright red and yellow markings. Beneath their shell, western painted turtles are overall olive green to dark brown in color with contrasting bright yellow striping on the legs and neck. Female painted turtles have short, thin tails and can
grow up to 10 inches in length. Males are smaller than females at their full adult size, growing up to 6 inches. Males have long tails with a wide base. Western painted turtles can often be seen in slow-moving, shallow water basking in large groups.

Overview

Species Common Name Western Painted Turtle
Species Scientific Name Chrysemys picta belli
State Listing Status Sensitive

Ecoregions

Blue Mountains

Located in NE Oregon, the Blue Mountains ecoregion is the largest ecoregion in the state. It provides a diverse complex of mountain ranges, valleys, and plateaus that extend beyond Oregon into the states of Idaho and Washington.

Coast Range

Oregon's Coast Range, known for its dramatic scenery, is extremely diverse, with habitats ranging from open sandy dunes to lush forests and from tidepools to headwater streams. It follows the coastline and extends east through coastal forest to the border of the Willamette Valley and Klamath Mountains ecoregions

Columbia Plateau

The Columbia Plateau ecoregion was shaped by cataclysmic floods and large deposits of wind-borne silt and sand earlier in its geological history. It is dominated by a rolling landscape of arid lowlands dissected by several important rivers, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Cascades Mountains, south and east from the Columbia River to the Blue Mountains.

East Cascades

The East Cascade ecoregion extends from the Cascade Mountains' summit east to the warmer, drier high desert and down the length of the state. This ecoregion varies dramatically from its cool, moist border with the West Cascades ecoregion to its dry eastern border, where it meets sagebrush desert landscapes.

West Cascades

The West Cascades ecoregion extends from east of the Cascade Mountains summit to the foothills of the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys, and spans the entire length of the state of Oregon. It is largely dominated by conifer forests, moving into alpine parklands and dwarf shrubs at higher elevations.

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley ecoregion is bounded on the west by the Coast Range and on the east by the Cascade Range. This long mostly level alluvial plain has some scattered areas of low basalt, and contrasts with productive farmland and large urban areas. It has the fastest-growing human population in the state resulting in challenges due to land-use changes.

Special needs

Western painted turtles inhabit marshy ponds, small lakes, slow-moving streams, and quiet off-channel portions of rivers. They prefer waters with muddy bottoms and aquatic vegetation. Western painted turtles use open, sparsely-vegetated and sunny ground for nesting. They require sunny logs/vegetation for basking and safe movement corridors between aquatic and terrestrial habitat.

Limiting factors

Loss, fragmentation, and alteration (conversion, dominance by invasive plants) of aquatic and nesting habitat are likely the main limiting factors for most populations of western painted turtle in Oregon. Road mortality, predation by bullfrogs, fish, and raccoons, competition with invasive turtles, and human disturbance may be locally important.

Data gaps

• Enhance understanding of basic life history information (e.g., growth rate, age at first reproduction).
• Investigate impacts from disease introduced and/or spread by non-native turtles.
• Describe population dynamics.
• Evaluate genetics.
• Assess the impacts of raccoons and invasive species (turtles, fish, and bullfrogs) on western painted turtles.
• Evaluate the effects of herbicides, fertilizers, and other chemicals on eggs and hatchlings.
• Improve understanding of hatchling ecology.

Conservation actions

• Provide basking structures and nesting habitat.
• Control invasive plants and animals.
• Protect important nesting sites from disturbance.
• Use wire cages to protect nests from raccoons at key sites in the short-term where this is a problem.
• Implement the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Turtle Best Management Practices.
• Prevent illegal collection.
• Prevent release of pet turtles.
• Reduce risk of mortality from roads.

Key reference or plan

Guidance for Conserving Oregon’s Native Turtles Including Best Management Practices. Read here