In 2015, reports of dead and dying turtles washing onto the banks of the Bellinger River sent shock waves through conservation scientists, wildlife managers, veterinarians, and the close-knit Bellingen community. As more and more turtles were reported dead and early attempts to treat sick animals proved ineffective, the scale of the disaster emerged; a mass mortality event with an unknown cause, rapidly wiping out the small, endemic population of the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle. Early investigations ruled out pollution and toxicity as the cause; the emergency rescue quickly adapted to wildlife disease as the most likely driver. Conservation managers and scientists worked quickly with the incident control team and the local community to identify upper reaches of the river they hoped would contain healthy animals. An emergency capture was planned, with the aim of establishing an insurance population. Within weeks of the first reports of sick turtles, the team were urgently retrieving animals. There was intense community scrutiny and expectation; a need to know and be provided with explanations. The Bellinger River is at the heart of the Bellingen community, and the plight of the turtle concerned many. Collecting a healthy insurance population had to balance urgency and uncertainty. Strict biosecurity guidelines were put in place for the capture and transportation of animals outside the catchment, and a quarantine facility was built at Western Sydney University. 17 healthy turtles were recovered from the upper reaches of the river before the disease advanced. These animals now form the basis of a captive breeding population, with over 80 offspring released into the Bellinger River since 2018. Today, the Bellinger River Snapping Turtle program is a well-established conservation recovery program owing its success to the dedication and collaboration of a broad range of people, overseen by an expert reference group with numerous others providing local knowledge and practical expertise. Volunteers assist with biannual surveys and water quality monitoring and >50 private landowners allow access to river habitat. The government team leading the program believe it is a privilege to work on the recovery of the turtle and are thankful to all those contributing to the shared goal of recovering the species in the wild. Strong collaborations and enduring partnerships, established during the emergency response and early conservation planning, remain a key strength in the recovery of this turtle.