Biologists will be on the lookout for nonnative snappers, bullfrogs
A common snapping turtle.
BY JOHN MCLAUGHLIN
For the Hungry Horse News
State invasive species specialists will take a second official look-see this summer for nonnative snapping turtles and other herptiles in the Flathead.
Fish Wildlife and Parks, and the Montana Conservation Corps partnered in late 2020 to begin tackling reports of snapping turtles and on-going concerns with bullfrogs in western Montana, according to a recent report on subsequent survey and remediation efforts.
The partnership formed a five-person crew in 2021 with grant funding to survey and map FWP’s Regions 1 and 2 for the animals, including another turtle type — the pond slider.
Dubbed the “MCC Herptile Crew,” the group also executed control measures in key wetlands and so-called dispersal pinch-points for the species, according to the report.
Overall, the group captured nearly a dozen snappers and destroyed one nesting site in about 40 waterbodies from May through September last year in both regions.
Nine of the turtles were removed from Region 1 — mostly comprising Flathead, Lake, Sanders and Lincoln counties. Just south, in Region 2, the crew removed just one snapping turtle and destroyed the lone turtle nest, according to the report.
Efforts then also focus on bullfrogs near the Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge in partnership with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and focus on snapping turtles near Kalispell, according to FWP.
Wildlife officials ask that snappers be caught, when possible, or otherwise reported to wildlife officials.
A nonnative species of concern to Northwest Montana, they are large and can be aggressive if provoked.
Snappers remain largely aquatic, preferring sandy- or muddy-bottomed water bodies, but are known to venture distances overland, according to the Montana Field Guide.
The turtles are considered native to eastern Montana. The American bullfrog, a nonnative aquatic invasive species is on the rise in western Montana.
The frogs are voracious eaters implicated in a number of extirpations of native Montana frog and turtle species, according to the state field guide.