The Lake Where You Live

It happens this time every year where Sheep Ranch Road traces the shore of Elna Lake. Painted turtles come out of the water and dig nests in the warm sand of the road shoulder.

On my evening bicycle rides I see the turtles, maybe four or five along a quarter-mile stretch of road. They’re backed up to the nest holes, depositing eggs that they will then bury before scuttling back to the water.

What mystifies me is that, without fail, they make their nests across the road from the lake, when there is perfectly good nesting sand on the other, safer side. They twice put themselves in mortal jeopardy by traversing the asphalt in their slow, deliberate way.

Now, Sheep Ranch Road doesn’t get much traffic; neither do most of the other town roads I ride. And yet every June during my various pedal travels I come upon turtles crushed on the pavement, deep green shells shattered into irregular shapes like mosaic tiles.

Often I spot a live turtle on the road, standing still, waiting for who knows what. I pick her up, careful to avoid the inevitable urinary ejection, and move her, in the direction she was pointed, into the grassy ditch.

I’ve never understood how or why turtles evolved to lay eggs on dry land instead of in the water. And if they’re programmed to nest on land, why in many cases dozens of yards away from their aquatic environment? Why not in the closest suitable bed of sand they encounter?

Those unsolvable riddles aside, it’s easy to identify the turtle alleys like the one along Elna. If you see a painter or a snapper on the road, you know there’s a lake, stream, pond or wetland nearby. And if you’re driving past a water body during nesting season (late May to early July), it makes sense to slow down a bit and keep an eye out for turtles.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) encourages us to do just that under the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program, a monitoring initiative that encourages citizen volunteers to help catalog the statewide turtle distributions by documenting crossing areas and places where turtles have been killed by cars. 

The information helps the DNR monitor species populations and set priorities for conservation. The program applies to all 11 of the state’s turtle species — water-dwellers as well as terrestrials, which also can happen upon roadways. Road mortality is a leading cause of turtles’ decline across the state, the DNR says.

Volunteers can use an online form to report observations — or download a reporting form to carry in the car. The DNR receives 600 to 1,000 turtle observations each year. The information helps identify problem areas where the DNR can apply conservation measures, which can include posting turtle crossing signs.

We don’t have to wait for the DNR to act. If we see a turtle on the road, whether we’re on a bike or in the car, we can pull over and stop — provided it’s safe to do so — and move the turtle out of harm’s way.

Turtle nesting season is a magical time. With a little watchfulness and care, we can help make sure turtles nest successfully, and avoid needless tragedies.

Ted Rulseh is a writer, author and lake advocate who lives on Birch Lake in Oneida County. His new book, “Ripple Effects,” has been released by UW Press. You can learn about it by visiting my website at https://thelakeguy.net.