I love northwest Michigan. ❤️ #Michigan

Pancake tortoises are some of the strangest and most beautiful of chelonians. I love watching these two eat! #herps 🐢

Sometimes I wonder what folks would think I do if they saw my desk? 🌎 🐢 😂

Bear corn (but no bears, lol 😢) and a few salamanders while doing a survey near this bridge. #herps 🌎 🦎

My son told me our turtles outside were having a ceremony… #herps 🐢

Happy World Turtle Day! Turtles are amazing: They 1) cycle nutrients, 2) act as both prey and predator in the food web, 3) disperse seeds 4) and can even control algae in our water ways. #herps #worldturtleday

This is the third straight year these little dinosaurs are nesting in our backyard 😃 🐦 #backyardwildlife #easternbluebird

#whitetaildeer #wildlifemanagement #deermanagement

I'm looking for input from White-tailed #Deer #Biologists about measuring #ecological impact. Any feedback related to the Twig Age method, Oak Sentinel method and 10 Tallest method would be much appreciated! Ease of volunteer help is important! 🌏 Other suggested methods welcomed! :)

Spent some time this week collecting Eastern Leatherwood seeds. They will be propagated and/or become part of a woodland seed mix for restoration purposes. As always with me, I tend to find some #herps when doing things 😃 🌎

Southern two-lined #salamander - Eurycea cirrigera (Shot in Cincinnati 3-14-25) 🦎 #herps #amphibians #photography #macrophotography #wildlifephotography #wildlife #animals

Why is this story not in an American paper Let’s tell more stories of how responsible governance can benefit more people and give them increased opportunities, instead of the supposed inevitably of the oligarchs having everything there is www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

"A federal court in CA struck down a USFWS attempt to withhold protections for the Joshua tree under the Endangered Species Act. The court ruled on Monday that the decision to not provide ESA protections for the Joshua tree is unlawful and sidesteps climate science." 🌏 abcnews.go.com/US/federal-c...

Always nice to check up on a county rare population (that was last surveyed almost 30 years ago) to find it still thriving 😊 🌎 #herps 🦎 Northern Dusky Salamander, multiple age classes!

I’ve been busy, but check out this glorious forested field of Mayapple! 🌎

Headed out to begin the process of harvesting Leatherwood (Dirca palustris) seeds for future production for restoration purposes. This is a high quality forest and there were plenty of other great signs of that! Bloodroot, Wood Betony and Jack-in-the-Pulpit 😀 🌎

I mean, Wow. Northern Ringneck Snakes are simply gorgeous. #herps 🐍 🌎

Turtle survey day! A great day indeed! I’ll update the spoils (if any) later. 😀 🐢 🌎 #herps

It’s about that time! Take a walk through your local park and see if you can find some spring ephemeral wild flowers! 😀 🌎 Two of my favorites below, Dutchman’s Breeches and White Trout Lily!

Found this little Eastern Milksnake stuck in an old cistern during a field site visit. Think maybe it was trying to scavenge that deceased toad? 1/3 🐍 #herps 🌎

I am very pleased with this little one’s development! ☀️ #herps 🐢

Spotted a couple Woodland Boxies today while inspecting/scouting some new property. Can you find them?!?! 🐢 #herps 🌎

Much like this new Florida Box Turtle, I didn’t want to get up today either haha! 🐢 #herps Happy Saturday! I hope you have a great weekend!

A break from social media is just what I needed! Anyway, we began a capture mark recapture study on Kirtland’s Snakes today! There’s still a lot to learn about these secretive (and gorgeous) little serpents! #herps 🐍 🌎 Handles with appropriate permits

Do you see that green carpet of plants? Some with yellow flowers? It’s invasive lesser celandine (in the US). These thick mats can inhibit/prevent growth of native plants and is incredibly difficult to eradicate. Now is a great time to treat it or at least document it so you can treat later. 🌎

The marginal scutes on this little one are amazing! This fella isn’t going anywhere 😊 🐢

Conducted some HHEIs in an area designated for restoration and found this nice big sycamore tree who needed a hug (rather I needed to hug it). 🌎

Another prescribed burn with a firenado at the end. Prescribed fires are great tools in fire adapted communities to invigorate growth, suppress invasive species and mitigate wild fires. 🌎 🔥

Just woke up some friends from their winter sleep 😴. These North American colubrid snakes make it through the cold months via brumation. The first is a locality type of the Corn Snake (Okeetee) and the second is a locality of the Eastern Rat Snake (Berkshire). #herps 🐍

Field season is just around the corner! These boots have been the best I’ve ever had so I’m trying to care for them a little better than I have with boots in the past. Cleaned them up and reapplied water proofing solution. We’ll see how they do in year 2. #columbia 🌍🌎

This is a great conference you should consider going to! It’s an every year conference for me! Check out the agenda! #herps 🦎 #ohparc ohparc.org/event/2025-o...

We’re piloting a volunteer frog call survey program to help gather information for our many wetlands and vernal pools. Had the pleasure of walking one of the planned routes for volunteers, so good to get out from behind the desk!! Some snowy pools for your viewing pleasure! #herps 🐸 🌍

The National Park Service runs 433 parks and historic sites, but amounts to only one-fifteenth of 1 percent of the federal budget. And the parks bring more than $55 billion to the national economy each year,. supporting about 415,000 jobs. www.outdoorlife.com/conservation...

“These firings, which disproportionately target biologists and natural resource professionals, are a direct attack on science-based conservation and the future of America’s wildlife.” www.refugeassociation.org/news/2025/2/...

Rare plants, animals, and other biota are not expected to fare well under a Trump administration that prioritizes economic development over the natural world. 🌍 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Here’s some turtle valentines I high jacked from a Turtle Survival Alliance post! #herps #valentine 🐢

Maybe leave this stuff to the scientists. 🌎 🔥 🌳 “During the Los Angeles fires, President Trump criticized California for not clearing enough brush.“ www.npr.org/2025/02/11/n...

In the wild, Florida Box Turtles (Terrapene bauri) can lay their first clutch of eggs as early as January! We’re not too far off here as one of my females laid her first clutch of eggs in early February! #herps 🐢

Subspecies or no subspecies? 🌎 aeon.co/essays/the-c...

Wildlife photo of the week is a Darwin’s frog at London zoo. It is one of more than 30 froglets of the endangered species born at the zoo after a dramatic rescue mission in which their parents were extracted from their fungus-threatened native habitat in Chile. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Here’s two young tortoises that will head out to another keeper who is committed to producing this species in human care. #herps 🐢 #kinixyshomeana

Get out and enjoy a walk through the woods or other natural areas while supporting your local park systems! Today was a beautiful winter day in some of the highest quality area in the county:) 🌳 🌎

Was finally able to get the last of my ACO out for Kirtland’s Snake surveys and population estimates this year! This is one of many sites #herps 🐢 #wildlifeconservation #wildlife

More tortoises in the wild is always good! #herps 🐢 news.mongabay.com/short-articl...

I’m catching up on some Herp podcasts and really loved this one! I particularly liked Chris’ answer (1h20m mark) to how can Herpetoculturists contribute to conservation. Hint: it’s not breeding… #herps 🐢 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

2024 was a good year for Terrapene bauri in this household! Raising them has been fun and will continue to be fun until I find the right homes for some of them down the road 😊 #herps 🐢

What a great story of conservation and collaboration! #herps 🐢 www.fws.gov/story/return...

Here’s some turtle news to start your week! #herps 🐢 rad-reptiles.com/rad-blog/f/t...

Some fun Friday content for you! You’ll need to turn the sound on 😃 I could have done this all day! 😂 🦃 #wildlife #turkeytalk

Just a reminder that if you’d like to join the live turtle chat with my co host and I, sign up here and I’ll send the link! #herps 🐢 Tonight, 8-9pm EST rad-reptiles.com#:~:text=JOIN...