A study of the Clemons Creek Wildlife and Recreation Area west of Washington has discovered it’s home to at least two endangered species.

Washington County Conservation Director Zach Rozmus says the species study was conducted last summer through a joint effort by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University.  Rozmus told the conservation board Thursday the study looked at insects, dragonflies, butterflies, mammals, and birds resulting in two special findings, “The Blanding’s turtle was located in one of the lagoons out there, one of the wetlands, and that’s a very endangered species, so it could open us for some future habitat enhancements in those areas to allow for additional nesting for those turtles and the green snake which is also endangered. Those are not very common. I’ve only seen them a couple of times. So, it’s cool to see a couple of species you don’t know that are there.”

Rozmus says the presence of the endangered species could result in extra government grants for their department