Elizabeth (Beth) Walton is a Research Associate for Texas Turtles and brings more than 25 years of experience in researching various turtle species. As an undergrad, she wrote, “Field Techniques for Bog Turtle Research in North Carolina”. Her Masters degree was "Using remote sensing and geographical information science to predict and delineate critical habitat for the bog turtle, Glyptemys muhlenbergii". Her PhD degree used "Ecological niche modeling as a conservation tool to predict actual and potential habitat for the Bog Turtle, Glyptemys muhlenbergii." As an assistant professor, Beth established and ran the Turtle Research and Rescue Lab where sick or injured turtles were rehabilitated and returned to the point of encounter so they could continue to make genetic contributions to the local population. Her students conducted research on Box Turtle habitat preferences, population demographics, injury and mortality due to anthropogenic causes, and the spread of invasive plant species by Box Turtles.
Beth has worked with a few turtle conservation groups over the years and has been with Texas Turtles for the past two years. We welcome her to our organization where she will use her GIS skills to help us better understand the distribution of our Texas Turtle species and populations.