It's turtle nesting time again!Please help keep them alive on our roadways
It's Turtle nesting season in many places now. You will see them crossing roads traveling to their favorite wetland, looking for a place to deposit there eggs.
Do a Turtle a favor and help them cross roads, this should be done with safety in mind of course. Just give the turtles a helping hand getting to the other side of the road.
Many Turtles are killed this time of year because of their need to find nesting spots and new wetlands.
Remember that turtle season is closed in Wisconsin each year from December 1 until July 15, so taking turtles or their eggs for pets or for food is illegal during this time. If you are in a state other than Wisconsin you should check with local authorities.
WDNR
MADISON : During the prime turtle nesting season in Wisconsin, the remains of turtles killed on the road are an unfortunate, and all too common, sight. Each year, from late May through June, turtles leave the water, traversing back roads and major highways, to nest on land and encounter an ever-increasing number of vehicles along the way.
This is particularly hard for turtles, because as a species they mature so slowly, according to Bob Hay, an amphibian and reptile biologist with the Department of Natural Resources. Female turtles mature slower than males, and females are killed at much high rates because of their need to travel about on land searching for a suitable nesting place.
Road mortality is particularly significant for two rare and threatened species: the Blandings turtle
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/factsheets/herps/Bldtur.htm and the wood turtle
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/factsheets/herps/WTURTLE.HTM , Hay said, adding that even the more common species, like painted turtles or snappers, can experience locally heavy mortality on roads and highways and their populations suffer as a result.
Hay noted that the Blandings turtle takes 17 to 20 or more years to reach breeding age and it may take several decades for a road killed female to be replaced in a population because hatchling and juvenile survival tends to be very low.
Turtles are an important and fascinating part of a diverse food web necessary for other wildlife and plant life, and highway mortality continues to be one of the major threats to our native turtle populations, Hay said.
Motorists are most likely to see turtles crossing roads near lakes, streams and wetlands this time of year because the roads separate the aquatic habitat, where turtles spend most of their lives, from well-drained upland habitats where female turtles deposit their eggs.
A turtle is no match for an automobile tire. If you see a turtle on the road -- and only if it's safe to do so -- carefully pull over and help the turtle to the side of the road it is facing, Hay said.
When helping an aggressive turtle, such as a snapping turtle, off the road, the safest way to avoid being bitten is to gently drag it across the road by its tail, leaving the front feet on the pavement. It may help to use a stick that the turtle can bite to grab the tail more safely. Hay strongly cautions people to never put themselves or other drivers at risk when stopping to help a turtle. Turtles will generally stop when they notice a vehicle. Driving slower in areas where turtles have been observed and driving around them is another way to help, again, only when it's safe and traffic conditions permit.
Turtles are up against tough odds even without highway mortality. Five of Wisconsin's 11 turtle species
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/herps/turtles/ are experiencing significant population declines. Hay says that as few as five percent of eggs laid survive to hatch and of those, only very few may survive to reproductive age. Natural predators of turtles and turtle eggs are many and include raccoons, skunks, fox, opossums, herons, egrets, seagulls, cranes, crows and others.
People should be aware that the turtle season is closed each year from December 1until July 15, so taking turtles or their eggs for pets or for food is illegal. Anyone who observes this being done should contact the DNR hotline at 1-800-TIPWDNR (1-800-847-9367).
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Hay- (608) 267-0849
