Saving Trapped Turtles
Here in Northern Virginia, our human footprint is rapidly expanding, resulting in large-scale habitat loss for non-human inhabitants. Modern construction equipment allows entire ecosystems to be destroyed so swiftly that certain species of wildlife have little chance to relocate.
Among the most vulnerable are our beloved eastern box turtles. They routinely find themselves trapped in construction sites by the perimeter silt fencing, unable to escape what was once their forested habitat.
The largest land-development contractor in Northern Virginia works on our behalf to request site access from the landowners for a team of volunteers to go search for these imperiled reptiles. In exchange, these volunteers agree (and sign a waiver stating) that no matter what they find on-site, they will not stop the progress of the construction job in any of its stages.
Education
Advocacy
Rescue
Site Walks
About Me
Several years ago, I took my three dogs for an off-leash run at a nearby construction site. As we walked the perimeter, we found eleven box turtles barricaded within the perimeter control fence with no way to escape, and no food, water or shelter in what used to be their home. We gently picked them up and put them on the other side of the black plastic silt fencing to make their way into the surrounding forest. Tanya’s Turtle Project organizes volunteers to walk these sites in search of trapped turtles and seeks to educate construction companies and individuals about this problem in order to save these ancient reptiles.
For inquiries, please email TanyasTurtleProject@gmail.com
Interested?
Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VC-KEXEtST2DjzlmdyXlWKntcCVRg0aoWLLSgZY56Jc/edit