23/07/2010 01:17 PM
Conservationists are installing security fencing along a stretch of road in Canton, New York, to help stop turtles who are risking their lives by attempting to cross it.
This week students from the St. Lawrence County Youth Conservation Corps have been erecting security fencing on a part of Canton's Route 68 road as part of a strategy to stop turtles inadvertently risking their lives, the Watertown Daily Times has reported.
Nesting season is a particularly bad time for turtle deaths. According to the news provider, over 120 turtles, of different species, have been hit and killed on Route 68 by passing cars in a single year.
During nesting season, turtles are tempted to cross the road to reach other nesting sites, and enjoy nesting near the road because of asphalt, which warms the ground.
Thomas A Langen, associate professor of biology at Clarkson University in Potsdam, said the road was a "really bad site".
"The number of turtles killed here is very high; the fact that we still have turtles here is, I think, because we have others moving in from farther away."
A previous security fencing project, carried out along another stretch of the road, was successful and has become the model for future turtle conservation, the news provider said.
Last month acoustic fencing was used as part of a strategy to stop carp from entering America's Great Lakes system.
This week students from the St. Lawrence County Youth Conservation Corps have been erecting security fencing on a part of Canton's Route 68 road as part of a strategy to stop turtles inadvertently risking their lives, the Watertown Daily Times has reported.
Nesting season is a particularly bad time for turtle deaths. According to the news provider, over 120 turtles, of different species, have been hit and killed on Route 68 by passing cars in a single year.
During nesting season, turtles are tempted to cross the road to reach other nesting sites, and enjoy nesting near the road because of asphalt, which warms the ground.
Thomas A Langen, associate professor of biology at Clarkson University in Potsdam, said the road was a "really bad site".
"The number of turtles killed here is very high; the fact that we still have turtles here is, I think, because we have others moving in from farther away."
A previous security fencing project, carried out along another stretch of the road, was successful and has become the model for future turtle conservation, the news provider said.
Last month acoustic fencing was used as part of a strategy to stop carp from entering America's Great Lakes system.
Top