The genus Actinemys includes two species, Actinemys marmorata (Northwestern Pond Turtle) and A. pallida (Southwestern Pond Turtle). Both species are found in different wetland locations in the Mojave Desert of California. Southwestern Pond Turtles are restricted to scattered populations along the Mojave River. The Northwestern Pond Turtle population is currently restricted to a small but unknown number of turtles in Piute Ponds, Edwards Air Force Base, in the terminal endorheic basin of Amargosa Creek near Rosamond, California. Historically, there was a breeding population living in the upper reaches of Amargosa Creek that varied between roughly 78 and 104 individuals from 1997 to 2003. Annual survival was relatively high (0.87 +/- 0.04) during the study with variation in abundance driven by a recruitment pulse early in the study. From 2000 to 2003 recruitment was much lower and numbers dropped sharply, coincident with the beginning of a multi-decadal megadrought that caused the extirpation of another large population in nearby Elizabeth Lake by 2015. Only a small number of turtles are known to survive at Piute Ponds. Given the disappearance of the rest of Amargosa Creek upstream of Piute Ponds due to drought, recolonization of the upper basin is unlikely without human intervention.