FARMINGTON – Western Maine Society will present a program, “Shelled Travelers: Conservation and Biology of Maine’s Turtles,” by Jonathan Mays at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the Roberts Center, room C-23.

Turtles are one of the state’s oldest residents, appearing on earth more than 200 million years ago. Perhaps best known for their shells, turtles have changed little from their earliest relatives.

Turtle shells are efficient in providing protection from natural predators, but modern day threats, such as habitat loss, vehicular traffic and over-collecting, are taking their toll.

Maine has seven native species of non-marine turtles, with more than half of them listed as rare, threatened or endangered.

Mays will discuss the turtles of Maine, the problems they face and what is being done to study and protect them.

Mays is a wildlife biologist for Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, where he is part of the reptile, amphibian, and invertebrate group. He serves as the department’s specialist on snakes, turtles, beetles, spiders and snails.

Before moving to Maine in 2006, Mays worked for North Carolina’s Wildlife Resources Commission on non-game species projects, including bog turtles and state rare snakes and salamanders.

Mays holds a BS in wildlife and fisheries science from Tennessee Technological University and an MS from Western Carolina University where he studied cave arthropod assemblages and ecosystems.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact board member Margery Blonder at 645-2445.