A Year of Native Animals: Blanding’s Turtle

2026, Friends of the Chicago River invited people across the Chicago-Calumet River system to make Wild River Resolutions, a yearlong reminder to discover, celebrate, and protect the wildlife that depends on a healthy river. Throughout the year, we are highlighting 12 native animals, one each month, that call the 156-mile river system home.

Designed to both educate and inspire, Wild River Resolutions connects people to the species living in and along the river while spotlighting simple, everyday actions that support a healthy, biodiverse, and accessible river system for all people, water, and wildlife.

July – Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)

Classified as endangered in Illinois, the Blanding’s turtle is a Chicago-Calumet River system resident that is suffering from habitat fragmentation and loss, predation, and mortality from traversing roads. Once widespread, they are now restricted to a small number of states and provinces in the Upper Midwest, New England, and southeastern Canada. A late maturing, long-lived species, the Blanding’s turtle has demonstrated an inability to cope with events that reduce its population.

The Blanding’s turtle is about the size of a small plate. Their most prominent identifying characteristic is their bright yellow chins and throats that make them appear as if they smile all the time. Their dark shell has numerous, scattered yellow flecks. Wetlands, especially those with adjacent sandy uplands, are necessary to support Blanding’s turtles, and restoration for them and reintroduction programs are underway.