Drivers Urged to Slow Down for Terrapin Nesting Season

STONE HARBOR – The Diamondback Terrapin nesting season has officially started! The first nesting female was observed on May 28, 2014 along Stone Harbor Boulevard.
The Wetlands Institute staff and our Coastal Conservation Research Interns have begun to conduct daily road patrols to retrieve eggs of road killed terrapins, to rescue injured turtles, and to help any that are found crossing the road. Our route covers 38-miles, including the causeways that bisect the coastal marshes and the bayside roads of barrier islands from Stone Harbor to the very southern end of Ocean City.
Last year along this route, we counted 558 terrapins killed as they traveled from the marsh to a site on high ground to dig a nest and lay eggs. This was among the highest count in the Institute’s twenty-plus years of road patrols. Motorists who mind the speed limit and stop to assist terrapins across the road when conditions are safe can help to reduce this unfortunate result. We assisted 142 terrapins safely across the road during our patrols in 2013, a number that was bolstered significantly by concerned citizens who slow downed or stopped their vehicles to help the terrapins. Live adult terrapins encountered on the road should be crossed in the direction they were traveling, and hatchling terrapins found on roads or in yards should be placed under vegetation in the closest marsh, not in the water. Please help The Wetlands Institute in our mission to reduce terrapin road mortality by driving slowly, and safely crossing terrapins when possible.
Barrier fencing along the roadsides also helps to prevent female terrapins from crossing busy roads during their summer nesting season. This year The Wetlands Institute has several miles of barrier fencing in place along Stone Harbor Boulevard and ready for the season, thanks to the efforts of volunteers from Pilgrim Academy, Philly Zoo Crew, Middle Township High School, Mike Crane’s Wildwood High School Woodshop class, and other local volunteers, as well as the Cape May County Road Department. In addition, the Borough of Avalon and the City of Sea Isle continue to install and maintain fencing along roads in their communities to protect terrapins.
The Wetlands Institute has been a crucial part of Diamondback Terrapin conservation for over 25 years. We continue to educate the community and to increase awareness for the human-related struggles the Diamondback Terrapin faces and to promote conservation of the species. To find out more about The Wetlands Institute’s terrapin conservation programs and how you can help please visit www.wetlandsinstitute.org/conservation/terrapin-conservation.