Summer is a busy season for road construction, but it is also an important time for turtles. More than 1,100 turtle eggs from four different turtle species were safely collected and protected during recent road work along Twelve Mile Bay Road.
The work was part of a partnership between Moose Deer Point First Nation, Generations Effect and the District Municipality of Muskoka. Generations Effect is a social enterprise of Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere.
Turtle nesting season takes place each June, when females often travel across roads and into roadside areas to lay their eggs. Twelve Mile Bay Road runs through more than 18 kilometres of wildlife habitat and passes many wetlands. This makes the area an ideal home for turtles, reptiles and other wildlife.
Before and during construction, teams from Generations Effect and the Moose Deer Point First Nation Lands Department carefully checked work areas for turtles and nesting activity.
Their work included:
- Moving turtles and other animals away from active construction areas
- Collecting turtle eggs that were at risk from construction
- Checking ditches and areas before excavation began for at risk wildlife
- Protecting and relocating milkweed and monarch butterflies
- Relocating culturally important plants, including sweetgrass and cedar
Over four weeks, environmental teams worked alongside construction crews to protect turtles, plants and other species during resurfacing work.
The collected eggs were carefully moved from areas where they could have been damaged by construction equipment. They were then taken to the Generations Effect incubation facility.
After hatching, the young turtles are being released back into wetlands near where their eggs were found along Twelve Mile Bay Road. Returning the turtles to their home wetlands helps them continue their life cycle in the habitat where they belong.
This partnership shows how infrastructure work and environmental protection can work together. Protecting turtles and other species at risk required close coordination between environmental teams and crews working on the road.
Construction crews helped by sharing observations, communicating with the environmental teams and allowing time for animals and plants to be safely moved when needed.
(Editor note – Thank you for looking after these lovely members of our community.)
