Box turtles in the path of the looming Intercounty Connector are getting a second chance.
“What we?re doing is moving turtles out of the area prior to clearing for construction,” said Holly Shipley, the environmental compliance specialist for the ICC, a highway that will link Interstate 95 in Prince George?s County with Interstate 370 in Montgomery. “We?ve gotten transmitters to put on the turtles collected to start tracking them.”
Catching and moving the turtles was one recommendation the Box Turtle Advisory Group made to the State Highway Administration, said Chris Swarth, a member of the group and director of the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary.
Professional herpetologists and federal and state resource biologists in the advisory group, which was formed in November, suggested ways to reduce the damage and destruction from ICC construction to Eastern box turtles.
Swarth said state officials “actually are agreeing to pick up most of the recommendations. They?ve been very receptive to ideas.”
Despite all the efforts to save the reptiles, the already-declining box turtle population is going to suffer, said Susan Hagood, wildlife issues specialist for the Humane Society of the United States.
“Whenever a major highway goes through a wildlife habitat, it?s irreversible and permanent damage,” she said.
But she acknowledged that the move to help the turtles is a good step.
“They didn?t have to make this effort because box turtles are not listed as endangered,” Hagood said. “They?re doing this because everyone realizes how vulnerable the [turtles] are.”
Olivia Campbell, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, agreed.
“For a highway project that involves turtles, this is going above and beyond,” Campbell said. “It?s not the norm for a regular construction project ? we?re trying to address the environmental impact as best we can.”
DNR has gotten involved, surveying to see how many turtles are in the path of the highway.
“The project has been put on a fast track because we have just over a month before the turtles start burrowing and going into hibernation, so we?re moving pretty quickly to assess the situation,” Campbell said.
Much of the plan is still up in the air: Shipley said the moving will begin as soon as possible, but had no specific date. Some turtles may go to holding areas along the ICC corridor, she said, and some may be moved to Montgomery County parks.
“A lot of this project is still in the feasibility stage,” Campbell said.
