“It’s kind of a cool story I think, because this wasn’t anything the state came up with. It was volunteers seeing an issue, taking action, and then giving data to the state.”
Hidden away in the marshes off of Machicomoco State Park in Hayes lives a brackish water turtle species that has been facing an extreme decline in population for quite some time. Friends of Machicomoco, an all-volunteer led nonprofit, discovered the Diamondback Terrapins nesting on state park land and took action to help restore the nesting grounds.
“We found the terrapins in 2023, nesting here in the park,” recalled Kerry Harlan of the Friends of Machicomoco. “They are a species of greatest conservation need. So, they’re not endangered, but they are in a lot of trouble,” she explained.
Her husband, Dave Harlan, also from the Friends of Machicomoco, added that “if nothing is done, they [the terrapins] will eventually be an endangered species.” In other states, Kerry explained, the turtles fall into different categ...