Long Point hatchery gives turtles helping hand

Recently-hatched turtles at the Long Point Turtle Hatchery and Exhibition Centre are housed in containers filled with vermiculite until ready to move to containers holding water.

Lisa Timpf

Advocate Contributor

Long Point Eco-Adventures and Long Point Biosphere Region team up to help turtles

Considering the fact that all eight freshwater turtle species in Canada are in decline, a joint project involving the Long Point Biosphere Region and Long Point Eco-Adventures Resort and Retreat Centre is a timely one.

The organizations teamed up to develop the Long Point Turtle Hatchery and Exhibition Centre, located at Long Point Eco-Adventures.

At the Turtle Hatchery and Exhibition Centre, which is situated in the same building as the Marshview Patio and Bar at Long Point Eco-Adventures, 1730 Front Road, St. Williams, visitors can get information about the turtle hatchery project. A large display provides details about the endeavor, and turtles in general.

In an initiative that started July 26 and continues until early September, visitors are be able to see young turtles that were hatched from eggs in the incubators on site. The hatchlings remain at the hatchery until seven days after they emerge, when they are released into the marshes their mothers came from.

The hatchery efforts are made necessary by a grim reality: mature female turtles emerging from the marshes to lay their eggs in June face a high mortality rate as they are drawn to the roads, where they frequently become the victims of fast-moving vehicles. Starting in July and running through to September, the same risk exists when hatchlings might cross roads to make their way back to the marshes.

Turtles are drawn to roads when seeking nesting sites because road shoulders offer what they’re looking for: lots of sunlight and heat for their eggs, good drainage, and no vegetation. However, crossing roads or even nesting on road shoulders puts the turtles at high risk.

To give the turtles a leg up, and to cut down on road mortality, barriers have been put in place in some critical locations where high numbers of turtle road crossings have occurred in the past. One such location is at the Long Point Eco-Adventures site. A specially-designed 270-metre black plastic fence prevents the turtles from reaching Front Road after they emerge from the marshes. 

Kari Gunson, who heads up the non-profit Eco-Kare International, was hired by the Long Point Biosphere to work on projects to reduce road mortality. Gunson notes that putting a barrier up to prevent turtles from getting to the road is just the first step. The turtles still need a place to lay their eggs.

To accommodate this need, nesting sites were built inside the fenced area. Gravel and sand, in a combination similar to what might be found at the road shoulder, were brought in, with two 20-metre by five-metre sections laid out for the turtles to use as nesting locations.

Volunteers monitor the activity at the nesting site and collect turtle eggs to bring to the hatchery, where they are incubated. Turtle eggs are also collected from Erie Boulevard, Hastings Drive, the Long Point Causeway, and County Road 60. These locations, Gunson notes, are all hot spots for turtle deaths due to road traffic. A careful record is kept, noting where the eggs came from, so the hatchlings, when ready, can be released into the same marshes where their mothers lived.

Incubating the eggs gives the hatchlings a better chance of making it longer-term, as there are a number of predators, like raccoons, possums, skunks, coyotes, and foxes, who would be only too happy to eat eggs or hatchlings. In addition, there are issues with turtle poaching by humans, so providing them with protection during the vulnerable hatching period gives them a much-needed assist.

The nesting sites on Eco-Adventures property are also used by University of Waterloo students studying turtle nesting and hatchling movement.

This year, the Turtle Hatchery has incubated over 1,000 eggs, but the turtle youngsters still have a daunting road ahead of them. Snapping turtles aren’t able to reproduce until 15 years of age. For Blanding’s Turtles, reproduction doesn’t start until the turtles are 25 years old. Research has shown that out of 1,000 hatchlings, only ten will reach age 25. 

The desire to help turtles succeed goes beyond the conservation of one species. Lauren Nightingale, Coordinator and Animal Care Specialist for the turtle hatchery initiative, notes that turtles are a “keystone species” who play an important role in the overall health of the marsh ecosystem. Turtles, Nightingale explains, eat dead plants and serve as a “top predator” in the wetlands.

“They’re like a custodian,” she says.

Like many important projects, the turtle hatchery and road ecology efforts are made possible through the contributions of many people and organizations. Animex International, which manufactured the fencing and posts from recycled materials, provided a price break for the project, while another company, Viacore, provided material for a gate that cyclists can ride over. The gate springs back into place after the cyclists have passed.

Environment and Climate Change Canada and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation provided funding, and Long Point Eco-Adventures made space for the Turtle Hatchery, as well as accommodating the fencing, nesting sites, and informational signage on their property.

The opportunity to house the hatchery at Long Point Eco-Adventures was described in a Biosphere press release as a collaboration that “will anchor a broader, integrated effort to promote sustainable tourism and conservation in Norfolk County,” while also serving to protect native turtle species and “inform the public of their ecological importance to the Biosphere region.”

Volunteers, Gunson notes, are also a critical part of the project’s success. Wildlife Road Watch volunteers patrol roads that turtles cross to get access to nesting habitat. When necessary, they stop traffic, carry turtles across roads, and keep an eye on them while they are nesting. They also excavate turtle eggs to be incubated. 

An information handout provided at the hatchery notes there are many ways the general public can help reduce turtle road mortality. These include driving carefully near wetlands and forests, reporting reptile and amphibian sightings on Norfolk County roads to help identify “hot spots” where action can be taken, and reporting injured wildlife or suspected poaching. 

More information about the Long Point Turtle Hatchery, including how to volunteer to help, is available at www.longpointbiosphere.com/long-point-turtle-hatchery/