Turtle discussion

Townsend, Massachusetts

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, 7:00pm Memorial Hall, Selectmen's chambers. Special meeting of the Conservation Commission to discuss turtles.

Source: Townsend posting board

Another dead turtle surfaces on SouthCoast

Another dead turtle surfaces on SouthCoast
September 17, 2008 6:00 AM

The reports of dead leatherback turtles in SouthCoast has continued to rise with one reported at Salters Point in Dartmouth on Sunday.

Tony LaCasse, media relations director for the New England Aquarium in Boston, said staff from Mass Audubon in Wellfleet Bay were notified but the turtle was so decomposed they will get almost no data by examining it.

"It is like a piece of tissue. It's probably been floating around for weeks," Mr. LaCasse said.

Three leatherback deaths have been reported on SouthCoast's beaches so far this month. They include a 600-pound leatherback removed from Pico Beach in Mattapoisett on Sept. 9.

A decomposed leatherback was still lying on the sand at East Beach in Westport on Saturday after being reported about a week earlier. The highway surveyor said he wasn't aware of it and would make sure it was removed.

Mr. LaCasse said they had photographs of the East Beach turtle but could not say for sure how much it weighed because it was already so decomposed.

There were 14 confirmed deaths of leatherbacks in Massachusetts waters this season and 14 reports of sightings of dead leatherbacks in coastal waters. Mr. LaCasse said the number of offshore sightings can't be confirmed because boaters could be reporting the same turtle.

"This has been an exceptional year for dead leatherbacks," Mr. LaCasse said.

He said the sightings are "probably the highest that we're aware of ever." Many of the dead sea turtles have been too decomposed by the time they reach shore for the New England Aquarium or Mass Audubon to determine the cause of death.

When they have been able to make a determination, there are often signs that the leatherback has been hit by a sea vessel. Mr. LaCasse said it is impossible to tell if the vessel hit the turtle before or after it was dead.

Leatherback turtles are considered endangered in the Atlantic Ocean so it is "of great concern" when they wash up dead here, Mr. LaCasse said.

In July, a 500-pound female that was tagged from West Trinidad was found dead on Cuttyhunk Island. Dead leatherbacks were also found in July at Popponesset Beach in Mashpee and Ricketson's Point in Dartmouth.

Dead leatherbacks should be reported to the New England Aquarium at (617) 973-5200. A sick or injured turtle should be reported to the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies at 1-800-900-3622.

They can weigh from several hundred pounds to a ton. Because of the the turtles' size, Mr. LaCasse said, "boaters are often surprised when they see them." The turtles may have come to SouthCoast waters this season to feed on sea jellies. Mr. LaCasse said a majority of them have already moved south and east with the change of weather.

In July, a 500-pound female that was tagged from West Trinidad was found dead on Cuttyhunk Island. Dead leatherbacks were also found in July at Popponesset Beach in Mashpee and Ricketson's Point in Dartmouth.

Dead leatherbacks should be reported to the New England Aquarium at (617) 973-5200. A sick or injured turtle should be reported to the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies at 1-800-900-3622.

The New England Aquarium does not remove the dead turtles. Mr. LaCasse said removal is the responsibility of the property owner, which, at beaches, is often the town.

Housing plan would protect rare turtles

By Shawn Regan
sregan@eagletribune.com

HAVERHILL — A developer is offering special protections for a habitat of the endangered Blanding's turtle to help win approval of his eight-home project on Corliss Hill Road.

Zennon Mierzwa has been seeking approval for his Fieldstone Meadows development since the mid-1990s. The land is off Route 110 near the Merrimac town line.

The city originally opposed the project, but it was approved by the state Land Court. Mierzwa must still secure local and state wetland approvals and have his latest plan reviewed by the Planning Board, Economic Development Director William Pillsbury said.

During a recent review by the Conservation Commission, a population of Blanding's turtles was documented in the East Meadow River corridor, according to a letter to the City Council from Robert Moore, Haverhill's environmental health technician.

The rear section of Mierzwa's property abuts the East Meadow corridor.

After working with state conservation officials and the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Mierzwa agreed to place a permanent building restriction on the back 15 acres of his 24-acre property, Moore said. The homes are planned on the front portion of the land.

The Blanding's turtle is a medium-sized, semi-aquatic animal with a dark olive shell and irregular pale yellow spots, according to the Center for Amphibian and Reptile Management. It's most distinguishing feature is its bright yellow chin and throat.

The turtles' range is concentrated in the Great Lakes region and extends from southern Ontario west including Michigan, Wisconsin, northern Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, southern Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Isolated populations are also found in New York, Nova Scotia and from southern Maine to Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, according to the Amphibian and Reptile Management's Web site. The Blanding's turtle is listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern in almost every state where it is found.

The species is considered to be especially sensitive to the loss of wetland habitats where it lives. The restriction on the Corliss Hill land has been endorsed by the Conservation Commission and City Council.

Source: The Eagle-Tribune

Learn about turtle reintroduction

There will be a special presentation on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. about establishing a population of Blanding's turtles at Assabet River NWR.

Come learn about how the reintroduction of Blanding's turtles to Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge has progressed so far, what’s been learned, what can still be learned and how experiences so far will impact work in the coming year. Dr. Kurt Buhlmann and Dr. Tracey Tuberville will discuss turtle reintroductions, including the recent work on the reintroduction of Blanding's to Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is in the towns of Maynard, Stow, Sudbury and Hudson.

The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. at the Great Meadows NWR Headquarters on Weir Hill Road in Sudbury. For more information, contact Susan_Russo@fws.gov or 978 443-4661 extension 34 or check the Friends of Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge website www.farnwr.org .

This meeting is sponsored by the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Friends of Assabet River NWR.

Source: Wicked Local

Boaters, beware! Steer clear of booming -- and rare -- leatherback turtles

A New England Aquarium expert tended to a stranded leatherback that washed up on Nauset Beach in Orleans in 2005.

Turtle influx prompts advisory

Boaters warned of risks posed to endangered reptile

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent | August 29, 2008

Federal officials are cautioning boaters in the waters off Massachusetts to keep a sharp lookout, because leatherback turtles, among the world's largest reptiles, have arrived in record numbers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued the warning in an attempt to protect the endangered animals, which can grow to be 6 1/2 feet long and weigh 2,000 pounds.

The turtles have been spotted swimming in Nantucket and Vineyard sounds.

Reports of dead, stranded, or injured turtles are also setting records.

"It is probably the second-busiest year in the 20 to 30 years that I have been watching the leatherback," said Bob Prescott, director of Massachusetts Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.

He said people are reporting seeing 10 to 12 of the endangered animals at one time, which is "unheard-of in Massachusetts."

The reason for the leatherback explosion is an increase in the jellyfish population, said Prescott.

The leatherback migrates through Massachusetts waters each year, but is staying longer this year because there are more jellyfish on which to feed.

Prescott said the reptiles are mostly concentrated to the south of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, which means they are out of major shipping lanes, but they have been sighted elsewhere, as well, and it is important for boaters to be careful.

The turtles can be killed when they are struck by a boat's propellers or caught in fishing lines.

The Coast Guard has been broadcasting regular reminders to boaters asking them to use caution and reduce speeds in areas where turtles might be floating.

"It is an interesting animal to see," said Prescott. "It is prime time to see them, and it is a fun activity to go slow and see them."

According to NOAA, there are several things boaters should remember when cruising near the turtles.

They should give turtles space, put the engine in neutral once a turtle is spotted, and let it pass.

Officials also urged people to watch their lines and bait at all times to avoid entanglement, wear polarized sunglasses so it is easier to see the creatures in the water, and use caution when approaching an area with large numbers of jellyfish.

© Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Source: Boston.com

Big year for baby diamondbacks on Cape Cod

By Kaimi Rose Lum

GateHouse News Service

Posted Aug 28, 2008 @ 02:14 PM

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WELLFLEET —

Naturalists at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary are welcoming the arrival of hundreds of baby diamondback terrapins, who have begun poking their wee heads out of their eggshells in nests scattered across Wellfleet and Eastham.

As many as 1,800 turtles or more could emerge on the Outer Cape by the end of the season, excellent news for a species listed as “threatened” in Massachusetts. In fact, sanctuary director Bob Prescott thinks this year’s turtle turnout could take the cake.

“We could exceed our record year this year,” he said, chalking the healthy numbers up to good weather conditions and persistent conservation efforts. There are about 200 nests altogether, he estimated. Some are located on the sanctuary grounds, some at Lieutenant Island and Indian Neck, and some in parts of Eastham. There’s a lone nest in Orleans.

Diamondback terrapins, named for the diamond-like facets on the ridges of their shells, live in salt marshes and their adjacent habitats and can be found in coastal locations from Texas to Wellfleet, which represents the northernmost extremity of their breeding range. They are under pressure from shoreline development, climate change and other coastal afflictions, and the sanctuary is working hard to make sure their population holds steady.

In the early summer, sanctuary staff go out into the field and place wire enclosures around the terrapin nests they find to protect the eggs from predators like skunks and raccoons. In late summer, when the eggs are getting close to hatch-time, they keep a close eye on them, moving nests that are in danger of being infested by red ants and maggots into the sanctuary’s wet lab, where the turtles can hatch in safety. (They’re later released.)

Or they might “escort” the nests from their upland locations down to the salt marsh, eliminating a leg of the journey the young turtles have to make after they’ve emerged, said Don “The Turtleman” Lewis, researcher and champion of the diamondback. It’s that first dash to the marsh that can be the most risky for the inch-big hatchlings, handy snack food for wild animals of all sorts.

Both Prescott and Lewis say there’s a direct relationship between the abundance of baby terrapins we’re seeing and the conservation effort.

“What we’re seeing is the dividends from all the hard work we’ve been doing for the last decade,” said Lewis, noting that the aggressive effort to protect the hatchlings got underway in 2000. The turtles take about seven or eight years to reach sexual maturity, so the big batches of eggs that have been produced over the last two years are evidence that enough of the hatchlings born in 2000 survived to make a difference.

In 2007, according to Prescott, about 1,800 terrapins were born — a significant swing up from the mere 200 born in a previous year.

More could be done to help the terrapins. The results of a turtle-tagging study conducted in partnership with the sanctuary by Barbara Brennessel, a professor at Wheaton College, show that the turtle habitat in need of protection might not necessarily be restricted to salt marshes.

“In reality, the hatchlings sort of amble around, and some go into the salt marsh but some go into the upland,” where they take cover under the leaf litter, Prescott said. For a long time researchers have thought that the turtles head straight for the salt marsh after hatching.

That heightens the importance of preserving the buffer zones around salt marshes, areas which are not guarded by local conservation commissions as carefully as the wetlands themselves.

“In reality, we need to be more protective of wooded habitats around salt marshes,” said Prescott. “It is vitally important that natural buffer zones be left intact.”

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Source: The Daily News Tribune