DNR officials are asking for the public’s help in keeping turtles and their habitats safe. Called the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program volunteer citizen monitors call in turtle sightings, crossings and carcasses. Conservation Biologist Andrew Badje says reporting observations shows where conservation improvements are needed to better road crossings for turtles. He says turtles getting hit by cars are one of the leading causes of declining turtle numbers in the state.
“…the citizen monitoring is people seeing crossing the road, if they can get a photo of the turtle, that way we can gage whether it’s a common or rare species and gauge what different kinds of species are crossing the roads there. As far as how volunteers can help, they would go to our website…”
Volunteers can watch videos on the DNR’s website to determine the species of turtle found. He says maps are available to pinpoint where the turtle was found.
Badje says if you see a turtle on or near the road to move it to the side of the road the turtle is pointed towards.
For more information visit the DNR’s website and search Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program.
