Run for Wildlife
MassWildlife is hosting a trail run on Sunday, September 24 at the beautiful, 900-acre Wayne F. MacCallum Wildlife Management Area in Westborough. Join the fun while supporting wildlife—all proceeds support rare species conservation in the Commonwealth. Adults and older kids can choose between an 5K or 10K run, both starting at 10:30 a.m. Children aged 12 and under can participate in the 1-mile Kids Fun Run starting at 9:30 a.m. Entry fees are $30 for the 5K, $40 for the 10K, and $10 for the Kids Fun Run. Medals will be awarded to top 5K and 10K finishers; prizes will be given to all Fun Run participants. Register now to reserve your spot!
About the course
The run will start and finish at MassWildlife Field Headquarters located at 1 Rabbit Hill Road in Westborough, less than 1 mile from Route 9. Parking is available; carpooling is encouraged. The course through the Wildlife Management Area is a mix of double and single track trails and will be marked with flags and signs. The Kids Fun Run will take place on a marked loop with adults at each turn to ensure that no one gets off course.
Supporting conservation
MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) protects the most vulnerable animals and plants in Massachusetts and their habitats. This work is only possible because of support from people like you. All money donated to NHESP goes towards conserving the more than 430 species listed under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. Your donation goes toward equipment and services needed to give these species a fighting chance. These rare species play an important role in keeping the Commonwealth's natural communities thriving. Read about conservation success stories in Massachusetts.
Run for Wildlife sponsors
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
- Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
- Cabela's/Bass Pro Shops
- Marathon Sports
- Mass Audubon
- Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- The Trustees of Reservations
- Wegmans
- Zoo New England
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for the Run for Wildlife, please contact us at natural.heritage@mass.gov or (508) 389-6360.
Public hearing to extend archery deer hunting season
A hybrid public hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023 at 1 p.m. on proposed regulatory amendments to 321 CMR 3.02 Hunting of Particular Game in Massachusetts. The proposed regulations would extend the dates of the deer archery hunting season in Wildlife Management Zones 1–9 by two weeks. The archery deer season would begin statewide in all zones on the eighth Monday prior to Thanksgiving, and end on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The public can attend the hearing and provide oral comments either in-person at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters (1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough) or via a Zoom video webinar. Click here to join the webinar (Meeting ID: 872 1636 1535; Passcode: 3giq1H) or join by phone (Dial 646-931-3860; Meeting ID: 872 1636 1535; Passcode: 049312).
The full hearing notice, including the text of the proposed regulations, is available on MassWildlife’s Public Hearings page. Written comments will be accepted for 2 weeks after the hearing until Tuesday August 29, 2023 at 5 p.m. To submit written comments, please email susan.sacco@mass.gov to the attention of the Fisheries and Wildlife Board, or mail comments to Chair, Fisheries and Wildlife Board, c/o Director of MassWildlife, Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581.
New grant will help conserve imperiled turtles
MassWildlife was recently awarded a Competitive State Wildlife Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support critical conservation efforts to help rare turtles in Massachusetts. Funding from the grant will be used to benefit four different species—Blanding’s, bog, spotted, and wood turtles—through research and habitat improvements. This award will support the implementation of regional conservation plans for each species developed cooperatively by northeastern state wildlife agencies from Maine to Virginia.
MassWildlife will work with municipalities, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Zoo New England, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other partners to complete turtle conservation work. A portion of the activities will focus on studying animal movements within prioritized habitat areas and improving data collection and mapping. Other actions such as habitat assessment, nest site restoration, and vernal pool protection will improve vital habitat for turtles and many other types of animals including amphibians and freshwater mussels.
“We look forward to working with our partners and expanding our ongoing conservation efforts for rare turtles,” says MassWildlife’s State Herpetologist, Mike Jones. “This award will allow us to build capacity and make progress towards our goals to stabilize and safeguard imperiled turtle populations and protect important habitats."
Why are turtles in decline?
Turtles live a long time—many freshwater species have lifespans exceeding 40 years. Turtle eggs and hatchlings face a host of predators and very few reach adulthood. Females of many turtle species do not reach sexual maturity (egg laying age) until they are 10–20 years old. Consequently, turtles must live for many years and reproduce many times over decades to replace themselves. If steady, even the occasional loss of an adult turtle, particularly adult females, can result in the local extinction of a population. Adult turtles face many threats that result from human activities, including habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, water pollution, road mortality, illegal collection, disease, and increased predation in urban and suburban areas.
Meet the turtles
Ten species of native freshwater turtles live in Massachusetts. Take a closer look at the four turtles that will benefit from MassWildlife’s latest grant.
Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)
Blanding’s turtles grow to around 6–9 inches and have a dark, high-domed carapace (top shell) that is covered with faint, pale yellow flecking. The deep yellow coloring on their long throat and chin makes these turtles easy to identify. Blanding’s turtles have a relatively large home range and make use of a variety of habitats including marshes, scrub-shrub wetlands, and vernal pools throughout the year. Their omnivorous diet consists of insects, crayfish, worms, tadpoles, and small frogs, as well as aquatic vegetation and carrion.
Females require well-drained loamy or sandy soils for nesting and are known to travel great distances to find a suitable nesting site. Up to a dozen eggs are buried in June; hatchlings emerge between late August and October. The sex of the turtle hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the eggs during incubation. Eggs incubated below a certain temperature (somewhere between 80–86°F) produce males; eggs incubated at higher temperatures produce females.
Status: Listed as Threatened under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act
Threats: Blanding’s turtles travel to different habitats throughout their lives, making them especially vulnerable to road mortality. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are also problems.
Bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)
Among the smallest turtle species in the world, adult bog turtles only reach about 4 inches in length. They have a mahogany or dull brown carapace, and many have faint starburst pattern on each section of shell (scute). A distinctive orange patch appears on each side of the head and neck. Bog turtles are opportunistic and will feed on land and in the water. They eat slugs, beetles, millipedes, earthworms, and aquatic vegetation.
The Bog turtle is a habitat specialist that lives in open, shallow, calcareous, flowing wetlands known as “fens”. This habitat type is rare and can be easily degraded by wetland draining or filling, development, or encroachment by trees or invasive plants. Bog turtles overwinter in underground areas with continual flowing water. They may overwinter alone or in groups of other bog turtles or even with other species like spotted turtles. Bog turtles can live for 60 years or more.
Status: Listed as Endangered under the Massachusetts and U.S. Endangered Species Acts
Threats: Habitat loss is the leading threat to bog turtles. This species does not travel far in any given year, so it’s not easy for them to disperse to other suitable locations.
Spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata)
Spotted turtles have a smooth black carapace with a few or many dozen small yellow spots. Dots are also present on the head, neck, and legs. These turtles can be found in forested and non-forested wetlands, marshy meadows, bogs, small ponds and brooks, ditches, other shallow, unpolluted waterbodies. Adults grow to about 3–5 inches in length.
Spotted turtles are relatively cold-tolerant and emerge in early spring around the same time that wood frogs and mole salamander species enter vernal pools to breed. Taking advantage of this food source, spotted turtles feed heavily on the eggs and larvae of amphibians. They also eat aquatic vegetation, snails, and insects. Often seen basking alone or in groups, spotted turtles will quickly dive into the water and bury themselves in the mud if startled.
Status: Not listed in Massachusetts; however, the species is considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the region and is currently under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Threats: Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are threats to spotted turtles. Illegal collection for the pet trade is also impacting populations.
Wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
Wood turtles are medium-sized turtles (6–8 inches) with a distinctive, warm-brown shell that resembles carved wood. Their head is black and may have faint yellow spots; their legs, neck, and chin are often orange or reddish. Wood turtles live near streams or smaller rivers with dense vegetation along their banks. They also spend time in deciduous forests, fields, and wetland areas. Nesting takes place in June; females lay an average of 7 eggs, which emerge in August. Wood turtles hibernate alone or in groups in streambanks and the root masses of large trees. The lifespan of a wood turtle is easily 60 years.
Status: Listed as a Species of Special Concern under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act
Threats: Mowing of hayfields and pastures, development of streambanks, roadway casualties, illegal collection for pets, and stream pollution all negatively impact populations.
New plant observation excites conservation community
Amateur botanist Syke van der Laan was exploring in the Berkshires when he noticed an odd-looking plant and decided to contact the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife). MassWildlife’s State Botanist Robert Wernerehl and retired MassWildlife Biologist Tony Gola met Skye on site to view the plant and confirmed his discovery of the first ever Massachusetts record of pine-drops (Pterospora andromedea).
“The discovery of a new native plant here in Massachusetts is extraordinary,” says Wernerehl. “We have more active professional botanists per square mile than almost any other state, so these types of discoveries are rare—yet they do happen.”
Pine-drops is an unusual plant. It contains no chlorophyll and relies on mycorrhizal fungi in the soil for nutrients. This lifestyle is similar to the common forest plant called ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora)—the short, creamy-white flower that emerges after rains in mid-summer. These two species are closely related and in the same botanical group within the blueberry family (Ericaceae).
Pine-drops is most common in the Rocky Mountains and its range is not continuous across North America. The eastern populations are small, scattered, and entirely separated from the larger population in the west. In the Northeastern U.S., pine-drops is found in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York. It is listed as Endangered in each of those states.
The seeds of the pine-drops are light and dispersed by strong wind (the scientific name means “winged seed”). Even with this convenient dispersal method, pine-drops does not spread easily. When they land, the tiny seeds must immediately colonize a special type of fungus in order to germinate, and the chances of that occurring are extremely small.
It is unclear whether more pine-drops will be discovered in the Commonwealth or why it went undetected for so long. “The pine-drops prefers dry pine forests, and we have plenty of that,” explains Wernerehl. “We’re grateful to the sharp eyes and careful observations of naturalists like Syke that help us expand our understanding of biodiversity in the Commonwealth.”
Asteroid named for retired MassWildlife leader
An asteroid measuring 2 to 5 kilometers in diameter was recently named after Dr. Thomas W. French, the founding leader and former Assistant Director of MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (NHESP). Unlike comets, which are usually named after their discoverers, asteroids are named for mythological figures and geographical places—or for renowned scientists, explorers, poets, composers, novelists, and other prominent figures.
The Paris-based International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially named minor planet 1991 PN2 as “(20010) Tomfrench”. The IAU’s 15-member Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) is the sole scientific organization with the authority to assign names to small solar system bodies like asteroids, comets, and satellites of minor planets.
Imelda B. Joson and Edwin L. Aguirre, both former editors of Sky & Telescope magazine, have known Dr. French for 16 years and proposed the naming to the IAU. The couple first met French in 2007 in Lowell, where they volunteered monitoring peregrine falcons.
“This is a completely unexpected and humbling honor,” says Dr. French. “I hope that recognizing me with this honor is a validation of how important it is for all of us to help conserve the health and natural diversity of our world.”
The naming of the asteroid recognizes Dr. French’s contributions to wildlife restoration, protection, and conservation. The citation, which was published in the IAU’s WGSBN Bulletin on July 3, 2023 reads:
Thomas W. French (b. 1950), a biologist and former assistant director of MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, led the successful reintroduction of peregrine falcons and bald eagles in Massachusetts after their native populations were wiped out due to extensive use of the insecticide DDT from the 1940s to 1972.
“We are so happy that the international astronomical community has recognized Tom’s contributions to advancing our knowledge of the natural world as well as informing the public on the importance of preserving our planet’s biodiversity,” says Aguirre.
“Tom is a true gentleman scientist, and his experience, passion, dedication, knowledge and professionalism are exceptional,” added Joson. “We’re glad to know that a huge chunk of real estate bearing Tom’s name is now floating out there in space!”
Asteroids are small, rocky bodies left over from the birth of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. According to the WGSBN Bulletin, asteroid (20010) Tomfrench was discovered on August 2, 1991, by the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile. Asteroid (20010) Tomfrench takes 3.9 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. It is currently about 480 million kilometers from Earth, shining very dimly in the constellation Taurus. One would need a fairly large telescope and sensitive CCD camera to record its faint, starlike image.
During his career with MassWildlife, Dr. French oversaw field research, habitat restoration and management, rare species restoration, permitting the possession of wildlife for research and education, data management, and regulatory reviews of proposed projects under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act. He has published 78 technical papers in peer-reviewed journals, given hundreds of lectures to universities, state agencies, ornithological societies, and conferences, and received numerous professional awards.
Deer hunting announcements
Check your Antlerless Deer Permit status
If you applied by the July 16 deadline, you can now check to see if you were awarded a permit. Log into MassFishHunt to check your status. Note: You must purchase the permit in order to use it.
Surplus Antlerless Deer Permits
- Zones 3, 7, 9, and 12: A limited number of Antlerless Deer Permits for Zones 3, 7, 9, and 12 will be available for purchase on a first come, first served basis starting 9 a.m. on Wednesday, September 27. Limit 1 ADP per zone per day until sold out.
- Zones 10, 11, 13, and 14: Antlerless Deer Permits for Zones 10, 11, 13, and 14 will go on sale at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 26. There is no daily or season purchase limit for these zones and they are available throughout the entire 2023 deer season.
2023 Youth Pheasant Hunt
Hunter Education graduates aged 12–17 are invited to participate in the 2023 Youth Pheasant Hunt. Participants learn hunting basics and firearms safety from experienced adults. Classes are offered on different dates at locations around the state. Register for an event by August 31.