Turtles, Shore Causeways - Fatal attraction

Turtles, like opossums, are lumbering creatures not built for the
age of the automobile. And the busy highways through the marshes to
shore resorts represent a scene of terrapin terror. The pregnant
turtle's powerful instinct to cross the road and lay eggs meets the
reality of an SUV filled with beach chairs and coolers.

The results are not pretty.

But thank goodness for the Wetlands Institute, which has run a
program for nearly a decade aimed at saving the local diamondback
terrapin population.

The institute, located in the marshes outside Stone Harbor, uses
money from the National Science Foundation to hire interns each
summer. The interns scour the causeways for terrapins - dead and
alive. The uninjured ones are helped to the other side. The dead and
injured are brought back, their eggs removed and incubated. When they
are big enough not to be food for seagulls, they are released.

Over the years, the institute has made the program a learning
experience for area schools, as well.

We salute such small, targeted attempts as these to better share our
piece of the world with other creatures.

Meanwhile, there's something every motorist can do to help the
turtles: Keep an eye out for them and avoid hitting them. And when
you see one crossing the road, if safety permits, stop and help it
cross in the direction it's headed.

Your day will be a little brighter for having saved a pregnant mom-to-
be from becoming another highway statistic.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/070103TURTLES.html

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Jul 2, 2003