Keeping Sleepy Creek healthy is the cornerstone of our area's future

Two Endangered Species in WV's Eastern Panhandle

You can help them survive

Part of Morgan County, West Virginia's Natural Heritage is endangered and may need your help to survive...

About Harperella
About the Wood Turtle
Why the Concern?
Threats to Survival
How Can We Protect Them?
The Volunteer Monitor Program
How You Can Help?
Three Easy Ways to Help
Sleepy Creek Watershed Association

About Harperella
Harperella is found in only a few places in the world, including Sleepy Creek and the Cacapon River in Morgan County and Back Creek in neighboring Berkeley County. This delicate wildflower stands less than two feet tall with leaves that resemble fat quills. It blooms in midsummer with inconspicuous white flower clusters shaped like umbrellas.

Discovered in 1902 by Dr. Ronald Harper, the plant was named in his honor. He found that it grew only near certain waterways-ones that flooded in the winter and spring and fell in the summer.

Only 10 populations of Harperella still exist today from Alabama to Maryland, half the sites that existed when Dr. Harper discovered it.

Fortunately for the residents of West Virginia, some private landowners are voluntarily protecting and safeguarding this delicate plant.

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About the Wood Turtle
The wood turtle primarily lives on land but is very much at home in the water and hibernates in water during the winter. In West Virginia, the turtle is found only in eight counties including Morgan County.

Once hunted for food and for its colorful markings, the turtle has become threatened because of a black market demand for the pet trade. Its natural habitat preference is also a limiting factor since it typically lives near or in clear streams, rivers, and woodland ponds near forests. This type of habitat has become degraded because of human growth and expansion.

The wood turtle can grow as big as nine inches long and the soft skin areas on the neck and near the shell are typically yellow or orange. Its name comes from its shell which is a rich brown color and has the appearance of wood complete with growth ring markers on its scales. It is omnivorous, eating both plants and small animals. Instead of teeth it has bony ridges on its jaws.

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Why the Concern?
Both Harperella and the wood turtle have their own specific niche in the world and unique relationships to other plants and animals with which they live. They are part of the magnificent natural heritage of Morgan County that attracts residents and visitors alike. As with all species, they possess a unique genetic and chemical makeup potentially valuable as a source of medicines and other beneficial uses.

Their rarity is a warning sign for us to protect what we have left of the natural diversity we all enjoy. Their extinction would eliminate forever their supporting roles in a healthy, diverse environment and their potential for providing unrealized benefits.

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Threats to Survival
Habitat destruction and large-scale changes in the river, like dams, sedimentation and water pollution, impact Harperella, the wood turtle, and many other plants and animals that depend on the river.

Certain small-scale land management practices also threaten them, such as off-road vehicle use, weed-whacking, and landscaping right at the shoreline .

Harperella grows where people enjoy summer activities that can cause unintentional damage to the plant. As development increases, everyone should take steps to protect Harperella and the wood turtle.

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How Can We Protect Them?
The State of West Virginia Natural Heritage Program collects information on the location, size, and health of Harperella and wood turtle populations.

A federally appointed Recovery Team with the Fish & Wildlife Service uses this information to plan for the protection of these species and assess progress towards their recovery.

Plants are studied every other year to determine if the numbers are decreasing, but it takes more than scientists to protect endangered species on the ground.

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The Volunteer Monitor Program
Harperella and the wood turtle could use a few good people. Like you?

How You Can Help
Volunteers monitor various reaches of Sleepy Creek, the Cacapon and Back Creek. These volunteers include landowners, fishermen, canoeists, hikers and many others.

Organizations involved in protecting these endangered species are the Sleepy Creek Watershed Association, Friends of the Cacapon River, and the Blue Heron Environmental Network. You can become involved as a volunteer monitor by contacting these organizations.

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Three easy ways to protect Harparella and the wood turtle

1. Avoid weeding or mowing close to shore. Maintain at least 3 feet, better still 10 feet, of buffer between your lawn and the water's edge.

2. Use trails for your all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Stay off gravel shorelines and streambeds.

3. Avoid known habitats of Harperella, the wood turtle, and other important species if you build, play, or swim in or near the river.

Both the Cacapon River and Sleepy Creek are outstanding natural resources in Morgan County that draw hundreds of visitors and retirees to their banks.

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Sleepy Creek Watershed Association (SCWA)
SCWA is a nonprofit, volunteer organization whose mission is to protect and preserve Sleepy Creek and its watershed, and to educate the community on the value of this precious natural resource in Morgan County, WV.

As part of its efforts to protect and restore Sleepy Creek, SCWA sponsors stream cleanups and monitoring. It is also conducting a survey and assessment of Sleepy Creek through a Stream Partners grant.

You can help support the work of SCWA through your contributions of time, effort, and money.

Contact SCWA by calling Gale Foulds, president, at 304-258-6155 or
e-mail us at
info@sleepycreekwatershedassociation.org

www.sleepycreekwatershedassociation.org

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Sleepy Creek Watershed Association
P.O. Box 991
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411