Turtles
Recommended Fencing: AMX-40 for small Turtles / AMX-60 for large Turtles.
Roads and construction sites are hazardous locations for turtles. While their hardened shell (with a bony carapace above and a plastron below) is sufficient defence against most natural predators, it is no protection from passing motor vehicles or earth-moving equipment. Additionally, on poorly fenced construction sites they are at risk of becoming trapped or injured in trenches, pipework, and machinery.
It is not uncommon to see freshwater turtles alongside highways and tracks in spring, summer, and fall. They commute across roads and construction sites as they search for food, or for mating partners, and as they move from pool to pool. Being ectotherms (“cold-blooded”), they are often attracted to the warmth of road surfaces. There, they will stop and retract into their shell in response to traffic. If commuting across a highway, they are usually slow-moving.
In the nesting season, female turtles are especially vulnerable, since they often dig into and lay their eggs in banks of gravel or sand on construction sites, highway shoulders, or gravel tracks. This is particularly true of sites near to ditches or wetlands. An additional problem is that breeding pools may be in-filled in large developments, so the animals will consciously be trying to locate them in the midst of construction work. If new ponds have been created as part of mitigation measures, fencing can be used not only to keep the turtles off site, but to direct them towards the new pools.
Blandings Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii).
The time of year when this is a potential problem varies according to location. In Canada, for example, nesting activity begins at the start of April and extends through to early October, but in the southern United States turtles are active all year round. Additionally, gravelly or sandy substrates on development sites may be attractive to female turtles during the nesting season. According to the species, the eggs take up to 120 days to hatch. When the tiny young hatch, they dig to the surface and then often migrate to a nearby water body. Having a soft carapace, young turtles are even more vulnerable to crushing than are the adults. Construction machinery is every bit as much a threat as is passing traffic on a highway.
Fencing can also be used to aid population assessment before the development of new construction sites.
Species Examples:
Western Pond Turtle
Snapping Turtle
Painted Turtle
Box Turtle
Blandings Turtle