Yes, You Can Help Turtles!
There are many ways you can give turtles a hand in these perilous times:
- Always stop for a turtle in the road if it's safe to do so, and help it get across in the direction it's heading. If it's injured, take it with you and call a rehabber.
- Keep an eye out for turtles in the road while driving. The smaller ones are especially tough to see, so watch closely, especially between May and July.
- Never take a wild turtle home. Ever. It's illegal, and that turtle's population needs it more than you do.
- Tell people about turtle rehabilitators, and help them find us! Most don't realize that it's possible to help an injured turtle.
- Make and post road signs at known turtle crossing spots between May and July.
- Raise mower blades as high as possible and always mow from the center outwards to give reptiles and amphibians a chance to escape.
- Preserve known turtle nesting habitat on your property, and encourage your municipality to do the same.
- Get kids involved! Children are the key to the future of all living things; expose them to and teach them about turtles whenever you can.
- Print and put up this poster to help save box turtles, which are particularly vulnerable to human interference: http://northeastparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/NEPARC_BoxTurtle_Poster_Dont_Take_Me_Home_7-12-2016.pdf
- Keep dogs away from turtles!
- Report sightings of listed species to your state's environmental protection agency. If they know where threatened populations are, they can protect them.
- Protect turtle habitat everywhere! Maintain buffer zones around wetlands on your property, and advocate for open space and building regulation enforcement.
- Support turtle advocacy and conservation organizations, both locally and globally.
- Sign up to help transport injured wildlife. Contact us for more info.
