As part of my Civics Action Project, I want to help protect the Blanding’s turtles. There are only about 55 adult Blanding’s turtles left in Concord. Most of them live in the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, their population has been declining since 1971, when there were about 135 adult turtles.
The number one reason Blanding’s turtles are endangered is road mortality. If you are driving near any pond or lake, and especially around Great Meadows, please be extra aware of your surroundings.
I also encourage you to check out Grassroots Wildlife Conservation (http://www.grassrootswildlife.org/) because they help many different species including the Blanding’s turtles. They track the turtles and give the hatchlings a “headstart” by having local 4th-grade classes raise them until they can be released into the wild.
Jared Graham
8th-grader, Concord Middle School
