In coordination with Pima County, a new addition to the Mission Garden acequia (irrigation canal water feature) is a young mud turtle to be released on June 28th.

One of our goals at Mission Garden is to utilize the acequia as an example of the plants and animals that once thrived in the abundant canal systems along this part of the Santa Cruz River. Sonoran mud turtles are a desert-adapted water turtle that can still be found in the wet reaches of the river today. Turtles have strong ties to traditions and stories in many indigenous cultures. The mud turtle also has a special place in the river valley ecosystem as a predator of water bugs, snails and fish. Predators are crucial in keeping populations of their prey healthy, culling the weak and diseased. It is our hope that a few mud turtles in our habitat will ultimately help strengthen our thriving Gila topminnow population and reduce an over-abundant snail population.

Description by Dennis Caldwell, aquatic ecologist