Field Journal: Snapper Saga
Jeff Douglas, Station Manager
Thursday, June 05, 2008 — With all the excitement around the airing of The Silent Invasion, I had an interesting "small world" story happen to me. I live near Fanno creek in Tigard. One of the things that convinced me OPB should help launch a "Stop the Invasion" campaign was watching invasive plants encroaching on habitat along the creek.
After the program aired, I thought I'd do my part by reporting the worst invaders I saw along the Fanno Creek trail. I was sitting at my computer filling out a report on the OregonInvasivesHotline about Giant Hogweed when the doorbell rang. It was a woman asking for help getting a large turtle back to the creek. When we got to the spot, the turtle turned out to be a fairly large Snapping turtle, a species not native to the Northwest. This turtle should definitely not be in Fanno creek, close to known habitat for native Western Pond turtles. Even though the neighbors who had gathered were concerned for the turtle's well-being, I explained why the turtle couldn't go back to the creek and would likely have to be euthanized.
I called the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife for advice. They had me keep the turtle in a tub with water for a day until someone could pick it up. The story has a happy ending. A wildlife care center in Texas wanted the turtle for use in educating people about protecting Snappers where they are native. Now I'll have to keep my eyes open to make sure Mrs. Snapper isn't still in Fanno.
