Tucked away at the end of a barely marked gravel road in rural Berkeley County — and behind an electrified, barbed-wire fence and an automatic gate with several security cameras — is a haven for endangered freshwater turtles.
This may be the Lowcountry’s best-kept conservation secret. The Turtle Survival Center (TSC) near Cross, S.C., is home to more than 800 turtles from more than two dozen species. The facility is a physical outpost for the conservation group Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), the largest non-marine turtle organization in the world. And you can learn all about it this weekend at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.
“We want to tell people about what we do around the world and in South Carolina,” said TSA Communication Manager Elena Duran. “It’s a really exciting time of year for us and a great event to be a part of. We’ve been going for about 12 years now, and we still meet new people every year.”
The TSA, headquartered in North Charleston, started at SEWE in 2014 with a little table and just a few turtles. Now, it’s grown to two booths and multiple tables and a featured time slot in Marion Square.
“The demonstrations are new this year, and that’s kind of weather-dependent,” Duran said. “We usually bring a large alligator snapping turtle with us. Depending on how they’re doing, we can bring them out, and they’re a really cool species. Kids love them.
“We just hope to educate the general public on what they can do for turtles in their everyday life,” she added. “A common thing people experience a lot down here is, ‘I see a turtle in my backyard or crossing the road. What do I do?’ So we have something planned to talk about how to help turtles if you encounter them.”
Global impacts
The alliance has one of the highest impacts of any conservation organization, according to Clinton Doak, director of the TSC, working in more than 30 countries to preserve and protect wild populations of freshwater turtles. And it does its work with just 25 people, as far as full-time staff members in the United States go. Only 10 of those work at the center in Cross where they tend to hundreds of turtles every day.
But Doak said they act as more of the backup plan.
“We are an ark, or a bank,” he said. “We take these species and manage their breeding, and then, hopefully, they can go back into the wild. Our primary focus is working in-country with tortoises and freshwater turtles around the world.”
Still, the work done at the TSC is vital. The on-site greenhouse houses 90 animals belonging to two species from the island of Sulawesi, one of the largest islands in Indonesia. The island is home to some of the highest levels of endism in the world — several species of reptiles, mammals and insects can only be found in the wild on that island, including the greenhouse’s residents.
Almost all of the turtles in the TSC greenhouse were wild-caught founders with an estimated age of at least 40 years old. Many of them have been in the U.S. for roughly 30 years already.
“They’re part of our breeding plan,” Doak said. “Their genetics are valuable to helping save the entire species. A lot of the time, when they come here as founders, they stay for the rest of their lives.”
They are also part of the first-ever international reintroduction program. For the first time, the TSC plans to take hatchlings from the U.S. and reintroduce them back to their native habitat on the other side of the globe. It’s been done before with sea turtles, but never before with tortoises and freshwater turtles, Doak said.
Round-the-clock care
Out of the 27 species of turtles kept on the 63-acre property, 21 are targeted for breeding programs. The team uses an on-site X-ray machine to find female turtles carrying eggs, waits for them to nest and then harvests the eggs to hatch in an incubator.
From there, the baby turtles go to the hatchling room, where more than 50 turtles live the first year of their lives in precisely controlled, 82-degree individual environments.
“It’s our cleanest room,” Doak said. “Nothing from the outside world comes in here unless it’s sterilized. They spend the first year there, then they’ll go to a juvenile rearing building for another year or two. Then, they go outside.”
In the greenhouse, the environment is kept to a stable 75-degree temperature to mimic the island of Sulawesi. The turtle team has also planted several Southeast Asian plants that serve as shade, food and more for the turtles, including jackfruit, bananas, star fruit, dragonfruit and hibiscus.
Most of the actual work is contained to the fenced-in 10-acre facility. The rest of the property is conserved as ephemeral wetlands and forest.
“We’re not going to develop on it or do anything with it,” Doak said. “We’re using it instead for studies on local turtle populations.”
Most of the 800 turtles they have live in outdoor enclosures. During the winter months, however, the turtles burrow underground for brumation — a sort of hibernation.
It’s a very different environment than what the turtles will experience at SEWE, which is why only a specific few “ambassador” turtles will attend the event.
“We’re very aware of the turtles’ care and want to make sure they’re all as comfortable as they can be,” Duran said. “The ambassador animals are very different from the other people — I mean, turtles — at the center. They’re more used to the noise and the people and being handled.”
Join the Turtle Survival Alliance at the 44th annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. The group will be exhibiting all three days, Feb. 13, through Feb. 15, in Marion Square. Tickets are on sale online at sewe.com.
Dos and don’ts when you find a turtle
While most people understand now that painting the backs of turtle shells with nail polish or acrylics is a bad idea, there are other tips to keep in mind to make the lives of turtles a little easier when you find them.
DO: Prioritize your own safety. If you want to help a turtle cross the road, wait for the street to clear, pull over and help them on their way. Lift gently, holding the turtle like a sandwich, and set them down on the other side.
DON’T: Put them in water. Turtles seek water when they are thirsty or in need of a swim. Some terrestrial turtles struggle to swim when tossed or set gently in even shallow water, leading to accidental drownings. Stick to soft grass, when available.
DO: Leave them alone. If you find a turtle in your backyard or elsewhere, and there’s no immediate danger, simply leave them alone. Turtles are survival experts, and surprisingly good climbers. They tend to know what they want in the wild and how to get it.
DON’T: Bring them inside. Intentions are often pure, but ultimately, turtles know where they want to go and what they want to eat. Leaving them outside, helping them on their way when possible, is usually the best way to go.
SEWE names Florida’s Genk as 2026 featured artist
The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition picked Florida-based painter Henry Von Genk III as this year’s featured artist. His original painting, “Charleston Splendor,” is the exposition’s official featured painting and is the subject of the 2026 poster, available now at sewe.com.
“Wildlife conservation is something everyone should support,” Genk III said in a press release. “I feel a responsibility to capture the world we live in for the future, much like the Hudson River painters did before cameras.”
The 2026 featured painting offers a peaceful Lowcountry scene: a white heron perched in marsh grasses beneath a pastel evening sky alive with luminous cumulus clouds.
“This painting lived in my mind for two years, and SEWE was the perfect way to bring it to life,” Genk III said. “As a private pilot, I have a deep love for clouds. The golden hour light on my favorite cumulus shapes with the Lowcountry as a backdrop is my idea of heaven. It sums up everything I love about Charleston in one image.”
Genk III, born and raised in Jacksonville, is a self-taught oil painter known for richly detailed coastal landscapes. He employs glazing and shadowing techniques inspired by the Old masters and the Hudson River School to create depth in his paintings, according to a press release.
After a successful career executing large-scale murals for museums and private collectors, he now focuses on fine art that celebrates the waterways and salt marshes of the East Coast.
“Charleston Splendor” is on view at Gallery by SEWE inside the Charleston Place, 205 Meeting St., Charleston. The work was to be auctioned off Feb. 12 during the SEWE VIP Gala and Sale.
SEWE’s conservation partners
This year’s Southeastern Wildlife Exposition is supported by more than 20 conservation partners, including (in alphabetical order):
- Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy
- Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
- BIPOC Outdoor Collective
- Boykin Spaniel Rescue, Inc.
- Carolina Coonhound Rescue
- Charleston County Public Works
- Charleston Soil and Water Conservation District
- Coastal Conservation League
- Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network
- Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society
- Quail Forever
- South Carolina Bobwhite Initiative
- S.C. Department of Natural Resources – Environmental Services; and Marine Division
- South Carolina Aquarium
- South Carolina Nature-Based Tourism Association
- The Center for Birds of Prey
- The Longleaf Alliance
- The Palmetto Trail
- Turtle Survival Alliance
- U.S. Forest Service
- Youth Learning Institute — Clemson University
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