AUTHORS: J. DAREN RIEDLE1, DAY B. LIGON2, AND TREVOR STARKS1 1Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks 2Missouri State University
ABSTRACT: The Neosho and Verdigris rivers were once major corridors for movement of Alligator Snapping Turtles between Oklahoma and Kansas. Historic harvest and the proliferation of impoundments in both states resulted in highly fragmented and reduced populations. Alligator Snapping Turtles have long been considered extirpated from Kansas. The last known living Alligator Snapping Turtle in Kansas was outfitted with transmitters and released in 1991 and has not been located since 1992. A series of surveys were conducted in Kansas from 2016-2020, but no individuals were captured. In concert with these survey efforts a Programmatic Agreement, which includes a Safe Harbor Agreement and Candidate Conservation Agreement, that allows our agency to enter into agreements with private landowners. Using habitat information collected during survey work several interested landowners with adequate habitat were identified and agreed to come on as signatories to our programmatic agreement. In Fall of 2024, forty, 6–10-year-old head-started turtles were released on a Segment of the Neosho River in eastern Kansas. An additional 60 turtles will be released in Spring 2025. The initial 40 turtles will be monitored via ultrasonic and radio-telemetry. Depending on the success of the initial releases, future releases will be planned for the Verdigris River drainage.
