PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER (Ontario) 11 June 07 Bad sign for turtles (Kirsten Querbach is a member of the Ontario Multi-Species Turtles at Risk Recovery Team and wrote this letter on behalf of the team. She is also a volunteer at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre.)

Re "County will stop warning drivers about turtles" (June 6) -

We were extremely disappointed to read that turtle crossing signs would be eliminated from Peterborough County. Just over a week ago a full-page article in the Features section of the paper ("Road-tested," June 1) illustrated quite directly the importance of educating people about the impacts of roads on turtles and how they can get involved in mitigating this threat. Knowing where turtles might be crossing is essential for this effort. The Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre (a local organization in Peterborough) has been working for five years to try and build awareness regarding the plight of turtles in Ontario and to provide hospital care for turtles that have been hit by vehicles.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada has designated six of Ontario's eight species of turtles as "at risk" in Canada. The majority of these are officially listed under the Species at Risk Act, our national legislation. Our turtles are in decline! We, as the Ontario Multi-Species Turtles at Risk Recovery Team, have been working together for three years to provide information and guidance to Ontarians on how to take part in the recovery process.

Road mortality is considered by our team to be one of the most significant threats to some of these species. In March 2007, the Toronto Zoo hosted a Roads and Ecopassages Forum that brought environmentalists, transportation sectors, academics and non-governmental organizations from across North America together to discuss the issues of roads and what actions we need to take to mitigate the threats that they pose. The idea for the forum originated through consistent messaging coming from Ontario Reptile Recovery Teams: "roads are killing our reptiles!"

Yes, the effect of road crossing signs on the recovery of turtles has been questioned in the literature; regardless, signs are extremely valuable awareness tools, which we know for certain. Considering the state of our turtle populations in Ontario, we need a precautionary approach and the signs help us in that endeavor, as they create a perceptiveness that would not otherwise be there. Indeed, isn't that why other wildlife crossing signs are continually put up?

If the nature of this problem is significant enough to bring the community's children together to create change, don't they deserve our respect and support in their efforts? They are certainly demonstrating their reverence for these extraordinary, majestic creatures that have been on this earth since the time of the earliest dinosaurs.



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