The Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is one of North America’s smallest turtles, and it is New Jersey’s State Reptile. It also makes its home primarily in unpolluted spring-fed wetlands often located on private property and farmland.
Biologists with the NJDEP’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program and the New Jersey Audubon have been working together with land conservation organizations and private landowners to identify critical Bog Turtle habitats in order to protect them. In doing so, they are also protecting wetlands and water quality in the headwaters of the Salem, Cohansey and Maurice rivers in southern New Jersey. These wetlands typically represent areas where pure water from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer seeps from springs to form the beginnings of creeks and streams, all of which flow ultimately the Delaware River and Bay.
Bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii), NJ’s State Reptile 
NJDEP’s Bill Pitts with a bog turtle that is being monitored. 
NJ Audubon’s Kristen Meistrell with NJDEP’s Bill Pitts weighing a bog turtle. 
NJDEP’s Bill Pitts and NJ Audubon’s Kristen Meistrell use a tracking device to locate tagged bog turtles at a Salem County location. (Photo: Kevin Sparkman)