DeKalb Times

Republican state Rep. Jeff Keicher is still marveling at some of the things he saw during a recent visit to the Nachusa Grasslands Preserve in Lee County.

“Hey, nature enthusiasts,” Keicher recently posted on Facebook. “In April, I had a chance to visit the Nachusa Grasslands Preserve in Lee County just a short drive west from the DeKalb area. One of the fascinating projects taking place there includes dogs who are helping to save a threatened population of ornate box turtles. It is truly amazing and inspirational what people can do when it comes to protecting our natural habitat and the native species who live among us that are so vital to our ecosystem.”

As part of his post, Keicher shared an article about all the heavy-lifting dogs are doing to help scientists determine the health of ornate box turtles.

"If the turtles aren't moving, the dogs won't find them,” Chicago Zoological Society clinical veterinarian and director of the University of Illinois Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory Dr. Matt Allender told Turnto23.com. “And it's likely tied to their urine as they're depositing that trail. A dog has to just come in to cross that pattern. They'll stop and then they'll follow that trail until they find that turtle.”

For nearly half a century now the ornate box turtle has been endangered or threatened, with habitat loss, road collisions and the pet trade having all contributed to their dwindling population.

“We've converted most of their prairie land into crops and agriculture,” Allender added. “There's obviously good reasons for that as well, but that's how we end up in this situation.”

According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, ornate box turtles average four to five inches in length and sport a high, domelike carapace upper shell. The lower shell allows the animal to completely enclose itself in the shell. The shell is dark with markings on the carapace and plastron, with light lines radiating downward on each side of the carapace.

INHS Herpetology reports box turtles reside in the "sand prairies of central and northern Illinois, Southern Tillplain prairies (clay soil outlier prairies) and open fields in the former prairie."

Over the years the Nature Conservancy has acquired space like the 4,000-acre Nachusa Grasslands Preserve to help restore habitat and build back populations, with Nature Conservancy Illinois research scientist Elizabeth Bach adding “we actually have 25 threatened and endangered species at the state or federal level that use the habitat here at Nachusa grasslands.”

Scientists are on record in asserting changes in the health of the turtles can indicate changes in the ecosystem.