Turtle mitigation barriers

We've been worried about turtles for a long time in Ontario. We've often stopped to help them cross the road. This was our 2019 trip to Muskoka. We spotted 22 turtles seeking habitat crossing the highway. Many people help turtles across the road. You have to send them along in the direction they were headed. 

I read an article online: Victory for Eastern Ontario's Freshwater Turtles. We'd see these new barriers all over the place. That was where we first spotted the barriers on our local travels. 

Wonderful volunteers watch for nesting sites, and cover the nests. Raccoons are notorious for uncovering snapping turtles eggs and eating them, as well as other predators. 

People are protecting nests (FB)

 The big problem is that they get run over by cars. We were traveling in a high-risk area for turtles, Highway # 62. Their council came up with an idea for mitigation, we spoke to a local man who was out working on his lawn. It was $192,000 for his section of turtle fencing. The homeowner said they'd seen more on the road than ever before the barriers were put in. He even had a mix of turtles on his front lawn. The turtles go around the fence, and end up in a u-shaped ending. There are culverts under the highways at certain spots, as well, I wonder if they actually review the results.

You'll note the various styles of fencing. 

Highway #7 Sept. 20/21.

Turtle fences on Moodie Dr., Ottawa.

We spotted some more on Highway #15 out of Beckwith, June 11th, 2022.

Turtles are nesting in different habitats from where they hibernate in winter. I found what I think was a turtle nest uncovered by a critters on the path down to the meadow. I'm fairly certain it was a turtle nest! JB found a shell like this on the driveway. I am not certain they survived. It will remain a mystery. The raccoons... ???

We have a variety of turtles here. Most of our 8 species of turtles in Ontario are at risk on the continuum: special concern, threatened, or endangered. The 9th, eastern box turtle, is considered extirpated in Canada. 

There are videos to help you do this safely with snappers!

There are lots of reasons they are at risk: habitat loss, pollution, poisons (mercury, DDTs), road mortality from humans, natural predators hunting them, slow maturation rate (i.e., snappers can't lay eggs until ), plus illegal human activities. 

Blandings Oct. 26, 2012

While a lot of try to avoid them on the highway, sometimes it isn't possible. Snappers are 'special concern'. Snappers can live to be 100 years old.

Snapping turtle laying eggs. They bite! 
The reason they bite is because they cannot pull their heads in, unlike other turtles.

Painted Turtles

Northern Map Turtle

I leave you with the mother of all turtles. She's been a favourite of mine after discovering her in our former Bala lake. She was the size of a coffee table, and I canoed around her. It was quite eerie. She totally ignored me, sunning herself on a Monday after a busy Bala tourist weekend.