In the spirit of this year's theme entreating us to slow down our fast-paced lives to celebrate the species we love and the mysteries that surrounds them, I am excited to debut a nature documentary more than ten years in the making. Western Pond Turtles - Between Two Shells marks the culmination of my attempt to spend less time capturing turtles and more time observing and recording the natural history of these remarkable species. By simply waiting and watching, I've been fortunate enough to witness western pond turtles nesting within arm's reach, laying eggs, courtship, and more. And some of it, I've been lucky enough to capture on film. I invite you to join me on this journey between two shells...

Matthew Bettelheim is a herpetologist, Certified Wildlife Biologist, and natural historian in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been exploring the effects of the historical commercial terrapin fishery on western pond turtles for over 20 years, and organized and presented at the Western Section’s 2005 and 2015 Western Pond Turtle Workshops. He was involved in a 15–y radio–telemetry study of western pond turtle nesting behavior in coordination with the Oakland and San Francisco zoos. His 2005 study, "Marmorata: The Famed Mud Turtle of the San Francisco Market" in California History and 2022 study, "A Review of the Historical Market: Effect of the West Coast Commercial Fishery on Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys marmorata and A. pallida)" provide an exhaustive review of the historical commercial terrapin fishery for western pond turtles.