From TexasAreaReptileEnthusiasts, reposted with permission from author

The following is a message from Penny Barrett Hornsby, a Missouri City employee. If you can help, contact her: pbh4935@gmail. com

5/1/08

I work for the City of Missouri City (Texas).

I found out yesterday that the developer/ contractor who is converting the Willowisp Golf Course into a business park will be draining and filling in many of the site's 14 lakes. No plan had been made to relocate the hundreds of turtles and fish from these lakes; which would mean that the contractor
will be backfilling over the fish and turtles, burying them alive.

I am heading up an effort to relocate the turtles. I have been given 2 weeks.

So far over 70 turtles have been relocated by rescuers in
the last week.

If anyone is interested in helping to save these turtles, frog and fish, we are meeting Saturday and Sunday at 9:30 am at the Fondren entrance (parking lot) of the property (14502 Fondren Rd Missouri City, TX 77489-1701 ). Penny, who is in charge of this, will be in a white Missouri City truck.

If you can come and want to play in the mud and, if you have buckets, totes or any containers to house fish, frogs or turtles until they can be released the same day- bringing them would be very helpful, we would love to see you there - GUARANTEED Great fun for families!!!! !!

If you need more information, call Gina at home at
713-329-9304 or cell 713-213-4745.

Bring drinking water - it will be hot.


Update:

Wow! What a weekend! The count is now up to 73 rescued turtles - a variety ranging from RES to softshell to mud (muck) turtles to snappers. Tiny to very large. But we didn't stop there! Alligator gars, carp, bass, trout, and those crazy sucker fish that people buy to eat their algae that are usually around 6 inches. The guys we found (over 20 of them) were well over a foot to a foot and half. On Friday we had three volunteers work for 4 hours. On Saturday we had over 15 volunteers from all over the place diving in the most disgusting muck/mud pulling out every conceivable living being. On Sunday we had 9 volunteers,again, digging in (or on occasion digging my truck out - thank you!). Please let me know if you have any numbers that you would like to relay - I have no idea the number or the variety of fish captured.

On Saturday, as volunteers strode into the mud, sometimes up to their arm pits, the construction crews looked on. All of asudden a backhoe comes up, pulls into the muck and starts helping to pull fish out of the water. One of the big burly construction guys that I had been talking to all week, on
Saturday, handed me a box. He had had been waiting for a duck to hatch her eggs and upon hatching, he scooped the little guys up. Mom hopped into the box with the 11 ducklings. He gingerly handed me the box, obviously very happy and relieved that they would be going to a better place. I took them across the street to the park and released all twelve.

I have already heard from one of the volunteers that came all three days, who has been out to the site and picked up several more. I am going to be out of town this weekend and will not be able to go back onto the property. However, I really think that volunteers that made it out this weekend have a good idea of what's going on, the lay of the land, the movement of the construction, and will be able to orchestrate a good evacuation of some more of the pond/lakes. If you do plan on going to the site this coming weekend - please write down my cell number (832.248.9469) so that if you have any problems or issues with anyone on site you can call me and I can talk to them. I don't foresee any problems as the guys out there have really been making an effort to help us rather than hinder. Also, I have to request that no one go onto the site and work alone. If you bring kids, that you not allow them to get into the muck and dig around. With the presence of snappers, I think it might be just a bit too dangerous.

I will be going out every morning this week around 7:30 to check the traps and rebait. I believe we have a volunteer that will be checking mid morning and our animal control officer will be checking in the afternoons.

I am so thrilled that I have had this kind of response. I now know who to contact, well in advance, when something like this happens again. To all the volunteers that gave up their precious weekend time

- THANK YOU! You are amazing people, I appreciate you so much.

Thank you
Penny
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freewebs.com/wichitafallsreptilerescue

groups.yahoo.com/group/HornedLizards

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