Cootes Drive fence will save turtles from deadly road crossing

Theres an armageddon happening on Cootes Dr. in Hamilton.

It'san armageddon between turtles and cars. And the Hamilton Conservation Foundation is working to prevent it

The road runs between Cootes Paradise and Spencer Creek, two areas of water the turtles move between to nest. But many dont make it across. Between 2009 and 2012, 25 turtles have died trying to cross the road.

As of January 2013only 1,000 turtles exist in the region,according to the Royal Botanical Gardens. The loss of one adult turtlecan be devastating to the turtle community as a whole, according to thefoundations website.

Its very rare for turtles to get to the adult stage, but when they do they really reproduce.- TobyTresidder,Hamilton Conservation Foundation

TheFoundation is in the final days of afundraisingcampaign to pay for afence that would block the turtles from crossing the road,instead diverting the turtles to cross safely beneath a bridge to access their nesting beds in Spencer Creek. The installation will begin at the end of April, to be in place for the breeding season when the turtles migrate to the creek.

In Hamilton there aresix species of turtlesat least one of them extremely rare. The six are: snapping, midland painted, northern map, common musk, landing and red eared-slider. The common musk is locally endangered, with just five turtlesleft in the region.

Turtles can live until the age of 70, and are not mature enough to breed until they are teenagers.

Out of 14,000 eggs,only one survives to adulthood,said TobyTresidder, administrative coordinator at Hamilton Conservation Foundation.

Its very rare for turtles to get to the adult stage, but when they do they really reproduce, he said. So when they get run over, they could still have 50 reproduction cycles left when theyve died.

The 500m silt fence will be installed along the South side of Cootes Drive.

Its fabric and wood, so its eco friendly, saidTresidder.

Its what is recommended by the Ministry of Natural Resources as being able to exclude reptiles and amphibians without causing any problems for other types of flora or fauna in the area.

Two years ago in 2012, the first part of the silt fence was installed from the Spencer Creek Bridge to Olympic Drive on the North side of Cootes Drive.

The foundation is attempting to raise $900 to build the next fence, this time on the Spencer Creek side. As ofFriday morning,it hadraised about $630, a number thatdoubled since Thursday afternoon.

The campaign doesn't end until tomorrow. We dont know if were going to hit there or not, said Tresidder. Hopefully we do.

To donate, visit the Hamilton Conservation Authority website.