By MADDY VITALE
Turtle nesting season coincides with the busiest time at the Jersey Shore, when traffic is at its heaviest. Environmentalists want motorists to know that they need to share the road with wildlife.
Diamondback terrapin season begins in May and typically goes to August. Residents and tourists will often see the female turtles as they leave the marshlands in search of sandy soil to lay their eggs.
“The height of terrapin nesting comes at the same time as beach traffic and the height of when people come down to visit the shore,” Devin Griffiths, marketing specialist at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, said Friday. “We want to get the message out that these aren’t just roads that you use to get to your destination. Wildlife uses them, too.”
He continued, “We encourage people to take a little extra time and watch out for any of the animals, particularly turtles that might be crossing because they have to get to the higher ground.”
Griffiths noted that “it has been a very busy nesting season.”
“We have had many turtles rescued off the road and many people brought them to us after rescuing them,” he said.
If on the road, only move the turtles if it can be done safely, he stressed. And if moved, they should always be placed in the direction they are heading.
While diamondback terrapins can live up to 30 to 40 years, traffic, roadwork and the fishing industry pose dangers to their survival.
Only one egg in a thousand grows up to be an adult turtle, experts say.
But even with careful motorists and those willing to rescue terrapins, some end up crushed on the busy roadways.
Dead turtles are often found during nesting season along a stretch of Bay Avenue on the Ocean City side in an area near Corson’s Inlet Bridge and the Rush Chattin Bridge.
Griffiths said that the speed limit was lowered on Stone Harbor Boulevard, where the Wetlands Institute is located, and that has seemed to help lessen the turtle deaths.
Griffiths said highly trafficked areas in surrounding communities have seen more terrapin deaths.
“We have had people saying they would love the speed limit lowered on certain roads. We hear a lot about Avalon Boulevard,” he said. “Most roads we hear about are the causeways going out to the mainland.”
Sea Isle Boulevard entering Sea Isle City has seen its share of dead terrapins as well, despite metal fencing along the side of the road that is designed to prevent turtles from crossing over.
Residents and tourists are more informed than ever before, Griffiths said, about what to do if they see a turtle in need of help.
“People either bring them to us if they are close by, or tell us about how they stopped and safely moved them in the direction they were going,” Griffiths said. “Visitors to the shore seem to be slowing down and rescuing turtles. The message is definitely getting out about what people should do with the terrapins if they find them.”
Owen Hoffman is only 8 years old. But even at such a young age the Ocean City resident has been a steward for diamondback turtles in his Merion Park neighborhood.
Back in April, Owen rescued 11 baby terrapins from places that posed a danger to the baby turtles.
Now, he is not only rescuing babies, but the female “mommy” terrapins, too.
Owen isn’t quite sure at this point exactly how many turtles he saved so far this spring and summer.
“We’ve honestly lost count,” Owen’s mother, Kathy Hoffman, said Friday. “He rescued so many.”
Owen explained why he has made it his job to rescue turtles.
“The whole reason why I like helping the mom turtles who are nesting is so they can get to where they are going safely, and make it back to the marsh with a safe return home,” he said.
The family recently took a trip to the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor to learn more about terrapins.
While the Hoffmans and Devin Griffiths did not meet, Griffiths said Owen is doing great work on behalf of the terrapins.
Back in April, when Owen rescued 11 baby terrapins, Griffiths said this, “He is doing great work. I would like to say to Owen if he was there (at the Wetlands Institute) and I had a chance to speak to him, thanks for caring about them. Thanks for rescuing them and thanks for making the world a little bit safer of a place for these little guys and girls.”
Kathy Hoffman said her son will continue on his quest to help turtles.
She also said she would like to see some additional help from the city in the way of more turtle crossing signs, specifically in areas near the marshes such as in Merion Park, 55th Street and along West Avenue.
“It would be great if the city would be open to local residents placing signs in areas of the marsh,” Hoffman said. “I think there needs to be more awareness.”
