Avalon to Install Innovative Turtle Protection

AVALON – Nesting season for diamondback terrapins, late May through July, is a dangerous time for the turtles and drivers on roads crossing or adjacent to salt marshes. Annually, hundreds of female terrapins are killed crossing roads seeking suitable nest spots for their eggs.
In 2011, Avalon installed protective tubing along Avalon Boulevard to stop the turtles from trying to cross the Avalon Boulevard. The decision to use the plastic drainage pipes came after a study by the Wetlands Institute to test effective deterrents to stop the single-minded terrapins. 
Now Avalon, working again with the Wetlands Institute, is ready to try a new concrete barrier that may be even more effective and has the added benefit of being less of an eyesore when used within the residential confines of the borough.
The experiment was designed by the Taylor Design Group, a long standing consultant to the borough. The institute will monitor the test of this new barrier.
The hope is that the project will be funded through a grant from Sustainable New Jersey developed by the borough’s grant consultant Edward Mahaney.
The project aims to provide concrete barriers to defeat the terrapins when they emerge from the marshes on the bay side of Ocean Drive near the marina and kayak storage structures.
It also seeks to provide an alternative nesting area on the bay side of the barrier as an alternative option for the terrapins.
As Scott Taylor explained to borough council, 20 linear feet of the new fencing will be tested in the area, along with a sandy nesting area, nesting boxes developed by the Wetlands Institute to protect the nests from predators, and interpretive signage to add an educational component to the project.
“The first goal is to keep them off the road,” said Taylor. The availability of a suitable sand area for nesting is intended to compensate for spaces the terrapins lose by not being able to reach neighborhood yards on the east side of the road.
The barriers are shaped in such a way that they curve back on themselves at an angle that everyone expects will defeat attempts by the terrapins to breech them.
They will have a level grade on the street side making the fencing invisible to residents. The slope is only on the bay side producing the obstacle for the turtles.
Taylor noted that the new concrete barriers also have a much longer life span than the plastic pipe which has to be replaced every few years.
For now, the piping will be used since the test area with the barriers is relatively short. Part of the project also includes a meadow area that will camouflage most of the plastic pipe to make it less unsightly.
Plans call for installing thermal-activated cameras to capture the struggle between terrapin and barrier in an attempt to validate the new design.
Mahaney has submitted the grant application on behalf of the borough. He emphasized that the grant calls for extensive community involvement in all stages of the project.
“This is a community research project, and that is how we were able to apply for Sustainable New Jersey funding,” Mahaney said.
If the concrete barriers prove successful, they will present another option for protective fencing to reduce the number of terrapin deaths from vehicles.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.