Recovery: Rare Turtle Gets a Second Chance

Only 300 Plymouth redbellies remained – making them arguably the continent’s rarest turtle. They were confined to one county. And they weren’t breeding. What saved the redbelly from extinction?

Ted Williams

Indigos Return: A Florida Breeding Program Raises Eastern Indigo Snakes for Reintroduction

Meet the captive-bred eastern indigo snakes destined for release at the Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve.

Justine E. Hausheer

Sea Turtle Tasks: A Night in the Life of a Researcher

Seeing a sea turtle lumber onto a beach and lay its eggs is a spectacular experience and, for researchers, a lot of work. Follow them through a typical night on the beach.

Matthew L. Miller

Sea Turtles of St. Croix: Research Benefits Nesting Beaches

Nesting sea turtles have staged a dramatic comeback at a Nature Conservancy site on St. Croix. What's behind the success? Our blogger heads afield for a firsthand look at turtle research and monitoring.

Matthew L. Miller

Tracking a Secretive Snake on the Prairie

The plains hog-nosed snake -- does it think it's a cobra, or a possum? Researchers are finding a lot of surprises tracking this mysterious grasslands creature on Minnesota's Chippewa Prairie, near a Nature Conservancy preserve.

Matthew L. Miller

Alligator Rescue on the Border

The alligator was trapped and destined to die a slow death: time for a rescue operation. An unexpected twist at one of the most biodiverse nature reserves in the United States, the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas.

Matthew L. Miller

Silence of the Rattlesnake Researchers: Snakes, Culture and Conservation

Snakes should fear us more than we fear them. In Vermont, timber rattlesnake research unexpectedly exposes humanity's tangled relationship with snakes. Can education shape a new future?

Matthew L. Miller

Snake Fungal Disease: The White-Nose Syndrome for Reptiles?

Researchers in Vermont were tracking the movements of timber rattlesnakes for conservation planning, but they also made an unexpected discovery: snake fungal disease. Could these lesions be deadly to snakes ? Could it affect snake populations the way white-nose syndrome affects bats?

Matthew L. Miller

Snakes on a Cliff: Rattler Research in Vermont

There could be a rattlesnake anywhere: Join researchers as they scamper up rocky slopes while tracking snakes in Vermont, all to gain a better understanding of the timber rattler's movements, habits and health. Just watch where you put your hands.

Matthew L. Miller