Wildlife

Lobster and Fishes               Piping Plovers               Raptors              Forest Birds

State-Listed Species
Resident Turtles

 

 

 

Five of the eight turtle species that live in Connecticut year-round are listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern.

Turtles are excellent indicators of ecological health. Resident turtles include the eight species of turtle that live in Connecticut (but not the four marine species that visit Long Island Sound in summer, all of which are threatened or endangered). In 2015, five of the eight resident turtle species were listed as endangered or of special concern: bog turtle (endangered), eastern box turtle, wood turtle, northern diamondback terrapin, and spotted turtle (species of special concern).⁶⁵ Turtle species in Connecticut have declined, in part, because of poaching, and the degradation and segmentation of their habitat. The ability for turtles to sustain a stable population will be difficult because turtles take a long time to reach sexual maturity and have low survivorship when newly hatched. While Connecticut General Statutes (CGS), Section 26-307 requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to review, at least every five years, the designation of species as endangered, threatened or of special concern, the state-listed species list hasn’t been updated since 2015.

Goal: Pursuant to CGS, Section 26-303, it is a policy of the state to conserve, protect, restore and enhance any endangered or threatened species and essential habitat.

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Bats

 

 

Eight of the nine bat species are on the latest list of species that are endangered, threatened, or of special concern.

Bat populations in Connecticut have experienced a catastrophic decline that led to the classification in 2015 of three more bat species as endangered in Connecticut and has raised concerns about the future of bats in the state. The sharp decline in bat population, between 2007 and 2010, is primarily due to an epidemic fungal disease called white-nose syndrome (WNS). Other factors that might impact bat populations include climate change and habitat loss. The chart depicts data for the winter population of three cave-dwelling bat species at a sentinel hibernation site monitored by DEEP.⁶⁶ On November 29, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a final rule to reclassify the northern long-eared bat (NLEB) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.⁶⁷ The revised designation for NLEB became effective March 31, 2023.

Goal: The goal for bats is for recovery of all nine species to a stable, sustainable population.

 

_{Technical Note: *The horizontal axis for bats displays every other year between 1999 and 2007. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, there were no hibernacula entries in 2021 and 2022.} 

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⁶⁵ _{DEEP, Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Reptiles; portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Endangered-Species/Endangered-Species-Listings/Endangered-Threatened--Special-Concern-Reptiles.}

⁶⁶ _{DEEP, Wildlife Division, Wildlife Diversity Program, and State and Tribal Wildlife Grants programs; personal communication from D. Fraser, December 7, 2023.}

⁶⁷ _{USFWS, Final Rule – Northern Long-Eared Bat; www.fws.gov/species/northern-long-eared-bat-myotis-septentrionalis.}