Road

Turtle Crossings!

Turtle Crossings!

It’s turtle nesting season in the Northern Hemisphere! Turtles rarely leave their home range for much of the year, but during breeding season they will travel far to find mates or a suitable place to nest. There are 59 species of turtles and tortoises in North America, but you might encounter some species more than others on roads. Depending on your location, it is common to find Painted Turtles, Common Snapping Turtles, and Diamondback Terrapins attempting to cross roads throughout the East and Central United States. These species suffer from habitat loss and fragmentation as well as the destruction of nesting sites, largely from housing and commercial developments encroaching on the beaches and sandy and soil areas where turtles like to nest. Consequently, females will travel longer distances in search of proper nesting habitat...