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