Oh, the Places You’ll Go…with Turtles!
By Rachael Harff, Chelonian Keeper II, Turtle Survival Center
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” is a question that we’ve all been asked in life, especially throughout our academic track. Five years ago I’d tell you I wanted to work with animals, which has always been true for me, but otherwise, I really didn’t know the direction my life was headed. Today, I’d tell you I feel so lucky that my career has led me to Turtle Survival Alliance and to an inspiring community of passionate people who love and protect turtles. Turtles and tortoises, in my experience, are some of the most fascinating creatures that can lead you on the most incredible journeys. Most recently, turtles took me to Belize—specifically, to the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE). BFREE resides on 1,153 acres of protected land located in the foothills of the Mayan Mountains. If you love waking up to jungle sounds every morning at sunrise, long hikes through undeveloped wild lands, eating amazing home-cooked food (thanks to their talented chef Eddie), and being surrounded by all kinds of critters (including lots of turtles), then BFREE is a must on your turtle bucket list. Not to mention the amazing staff at BFREE that you’ll meet, learn from, and likely befriend.
BFREE and Turtle Survival Alliance’s partnership began in 2010 when both organizations saw a need for the conservation of the critically endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii), known locally as the hicatee. Their combined effort to prevent the decline of the species led to the inception of the Hicatee Conservation & Research Center (HCRC), located on the grounds of the BFREE field station. Fast forward through fourteen years of hard work and dedication, and the HCRC has released over 500 hicatee turtles into the wild, all thanks to their very successful breeding and head start program, as well as the dedicated staff, scientists, and volunteers that have made this possible over the years.
A Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii), also known as the hicatee, in Belize. These turtles live in rivers, oxbow lakes, and lagoons, and during the wet season, flooded forests. Photo by Rachael Harff.
The reason for myself and eleven other turtle enthusiasts traveling to BFREE this July was to conduct a population survey of eight other species of freshwater turtle found on BFREE’s reserve. In addition to the Turtle Survival Alliance/BFREE partnership to save the hicatee, they have also launched a program inviting Volunteer Scientists to participate in field programs through the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG). The objective of the study is to capture, mark, and recapture the turtles we find on the property to study population size over time and to ensure healthy populations of turtles remain in the wild there. We caught the turtles both by hand and by setting various baited traps. Then, we marked them with shell notches and gave them Passive Integrated Transponders, or PIT tags, for future identification. We took measurements including carapace and plastron length, width, etc., and released them back into the wild once the data was collected. July 2024 concluded the fourth year of data collection and research in the 10-year study. This year, we found several handfuls of adorable hatchling turtles, and we excitingly recorded the one-thousandth turtle captured on the BFREE property.
The eight species that we captured while conducting the survey included: Tabasco Mud Turtles (Kinosternon acutum), Scorpion Mud Turtles (Kinosternon scorpioides), White-lipped Mud Turtles (Kinosternon leucostomum), Narrow-bridged Musk Turtles (Claudius angustatus), Mexican Giant Musk Turtles (Staurotypus triporcatus), Meso-American Sliders (Trachemys venusta), Furrowed Wood Turtles (Rhinoclemmys areolata) and one very elusive Central American Snapping Turtle (Chelydra rossignonii).
We spent our days and nights hiking throughout the property looking for turtles. This included hiking up and down the 6-mile entrance road that segues from jungle to savanna, wading in shallow creeks and getting caught in rainstorms, night snorkeling in the fast-moving Bladen River, and being led deep into jungle wetlands by Thomas Pop; the turtle whisperer, jungle man, and coolest person I’ve ever met. Two things held true every day we spent at BFREE; one, we were absolutely going to find turtles, and two, we were absolutely going to get wet. I think all of us quickly learned to embrace the torrential rain, puddles, and river crossings we encountered daily. We certainly didn’t let any of our unfortunate shoe or wardrobe choices hold us back from experiencing all that Belize’s biodiversity has to offer.
While participating in the 2024 turtle survey at BFREE, I loved learning about the BFREE Fellowship Program and connecting with the fellows. The Fellowship Program offers a two-year immersive workforce training program to recent Belizean junior college and college graduates. Heather Barrett, Deputy Director of BFREE, with the help of Jacob Marlin, Executive Director of BFREE, and Jaren Serano, Dermatemys Program Coordinator, created this program to empower future conservation leaders and allow young professionals to get their foot in the door in wildlife conservation and agroforestry. It is an example of a successful program that is essential to the future of conservation through community involvement and cultivating aspiring leaders.
During my visit, I met Barney Hall and Roxanna Chen, two of the most recent graduates of the fellowship program. Roxanna was the first female graduate of the program and has since become a permanent staff member at BFREE. Barney has recently begun his next journey in conservation by pursuing a Bachelor’s in Environmental Science at the University of Augsburg in Minnesota.
I was fascinated with Barney’s chelonian journey and how the fellowship program drastically altered the direction of his life. Growing up on a river, Barney told me about how he had always enjoyed fishing and being in nature but didn’t know of any career paths related to this field. Fate intervened when Jacob Marlin stumbled upon Barney working at a hardware shop. They struck up a conversation about BFREE and wildlife conservation. After seeing a spark of Barney’s passion for wildlife in their conversation, Jacob encouraged Barney to apply for the science and education fellowship program. Thus, Barney’s official journey with turtles began. He and several of the other fellows that I had the pleasure of meeting during my trip, whether old and new to the program, have gone on or will go on to do amazing things for conservation–because of their individual drive–and because of the support and experiences they received from the fellowship program offered at BFREE.
So, where do YOU see yourself in five years? Perhaps you’ll be visiting a beautiful place with passionate people to teach you all about their efforts for turtle conservation. Or maybe you’ll be conducting turtle research and sharing your findings at the next Turtle Survival Alliance symposium. If turtles are involved, it’s probably likely you’re going to be in some exciting scenarios or habitats somewhere around the world. I hope I get to continue on this journey in turtle conservation and continue to connect with incredible people. I hope organizations like Turtle Survival Alliance and BFREE continue to inspire, nurture, and create opportunities for future generations to get involved and care about conservation. And of course, I look forward to following the turtles …off to great places! …off and away!
-Rachael
Header image: Rachael Harff on a river in a protected field site in Belize. Photo by Larissa Saarel.
