Support Local Turtles

World Turtle Day® is Friday, May 23, and we’re inviting you to take a moment to appreciate, support, and protect turtles. Across the globe, turtles and tortoises are under threat from habitat loss, pollution, and illegal trade. Some species have even gone extinct. In our region, turtles like the Blanding’s turtle, listed as state endangered since 2009, still face serious challenges.

Turtle Success in the Chicago River System

At Friends of the Chicago River, we’ve been working to improve conditions for turtles for years—restoring water quality and protecting habitats. Since 2014, thanks to our partnership with the Forest Preserves of Cook County and generous private donors, we've also focused on boosting nesting success.

Together, we’ve restored 225 acres of prime nesting habitat at:

  • Watersmeet Woods in Winnetka
  • Chipilly Woods in Northbrook
  • Skokie Lagoons in Glencoe
  • Wampum Lake Woods in Thornton
  • Sag Quarries in Lemont

These carefully chosen sites offer the right soil, sunshine, and safety from predators—ideal conditions for turtle hatchlings to thrive. And it's working: our efforts have led to a 60% increase in hatch rates across turtle species.

Symbolically Adopt a Painted Turtle

To support our local turtles, we invite you to symbolically adopt a painted turtle for a full year for yourself or as a gift and support our wildlife habitat projects. Your $60 helps us advocate for clean water and healthy habitat which improves the river for the 80 species of fish, countless bird species, beavers, muskrats, turtles, and the even the occasional river otter that call it home. A one-time gift of $6,000 would enable us to add an acre of turtle nesting habitat and do even more for the turtles we love. To donate an acre contact Annie Hanrahan, development director, at (312) 939-0490, ext. 19 or ahanrahan@chicagoriver.org.

Turtle Fun Fact

Did you know the painted turtle is Illinois’ official state reptile? It’s commonly seen along the Chicago-Calumet River system. Painted turtles are smaller and flatter than snapping turtles and can be confused with red-eared sliders (an invasive species). To tell them apart, look for the red "ear" spot and spotted bottom shell on the slider—features that painted turtles lack.