Okay, I’m going to make myself write this running blog entry tonight.  I do not feel at all like writing about tonight’s run but I will.

I ran 8.42 miles at McQueen’s Island.  I started at the mid-section of the rails to trails and ran east until I reached the Ft. Pulaski entrance hut.  I continued running, crossing that small field that’s in front of that pulaski entry hut and disappeared into the newish trail that’s hidden in a cluster of thick vegetation.  I exited the newish trail on highway 80 across from the deserted road that takes you to the Lazaretto Creek pier.  I ran to the southern end of the pier, turned around, and ran back but instead of catching the rtt again I continued up highway 80 until i reached the mid-section of the rails to trails and my car.  Along the way I counted 16 dead turtles on the highway and two big yellow signs informing drivers that this road is a turtle crossing zone.  I’m not sure why those signs are there.  A turtle does not stand a chance crossing highway 80.  There is simply too much traffic on that highway and it is always moving way too fast.

Actually, I’m writing this blog because of the turtles.  I really like turtles.  I find turtles pathetically cute, – kind of like a pug.  For me, it’s very difficult to dislike a turtle (or a pug for that matter).  I kind of  feel sorry for turtles even, though, they can live a couple of hundred years…that is if a car doesn’t come along and squash them.  And, I really hate seeing their carcasses littering the highway.

I really do not quite understand the purpose of having those turtle crossing signs on highway 80.  Do the people who put up those signs really think drivers would drive up and down highway 80 more cautiously alert when they see those turtle crossing signs?  Like I said a few lines ago, I counted 16 dead turtles on a three mile stretch of highway 80.  That’s just too many in my opinion.  One turtle that I saw dead was perhaps ten feet from one of the Turtle Crossing signs…just like Alanis Morisette would say, how ironic.

What can be done to save some of the turtles that are attempting to cross highway 80?  Do we make short signs that turtles can see warning them not to cross the road or to run very fast when crossing highway 80?  That only works in cartoons, I’m afraid.

What about building tunnels under several sections of highway 80 so the turtles can safely cross?  If these tunnels were to be built, would the turtles go through them or, would they continue trying to cross the highway the unsafe way?  I think I read an article many years ago that Florida had done something like this around the everglades for the purpose of reducing wildlife road kill and, it actually worked.  If this is a viable idea how can we get it to happen in Chatham County?  What would I have to do to get this to be done?  Who would I have to talk to?  How much would it cost?  How big would the tunnels have to be for the turtles to feel safe going through them?  If these tunnels were built would they have to be cleaned out every now and then because they would get filled with all kinds of junk and obstructions due to high tides washing stuff into them?  How many of these tunnels would have to be built?  So many questions!

Maybe, we could build a turtle bridge over highway 80.   Not a good idea.   Turtles would probably stop halfway across the turtle bridge, hang their butts over the sides and poop on every car that drives under it.  So, scratch that plan.

Perhaps, create teleportation stations on the sides of highway 80 and every time a turtle crosses the beam it automatically gets teleported to the other side of the highway.  That would probably cost too much money, not to mention a fly might cross the beam at the same time as a turtle and we will end up getting a turtle with fly dna mixed in with it.  That would be too dangerous.  So, we’ll scratch that idea too.

Through-out the last few years I’ve run highway 80 many times and I always come across turtle carcasses on it.  I just haven’t come across so many in one shot like I did during tonight’s run.  As I came across one turtle carcass after another I said to myself that if I count 12 dead turtles I was going to look into doing something that could bring down the turtle mortality rate along highway 80 on McQueen’s Island.  Well, I counted 16.  That’s too many.  So, I want to do something to help out the turtles.

Wildlife inventory:

• 1 million crabs, give or take
• 1 green heron
• 18 grackles
• 1 seagull
• 10 feral cats
• 2 red-winged black birds
• 16 dead turtles

Running stats:

• run log
• mapped run
• total miles on NB mt10′s: 33.11
• total real miles for 2012: 486.87
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 47.49
• total gypsy walk mileage: 1.3 mile

I’m going to be a bit more disciplined in keeping up with this running blog.  I seem to have lost my running blog writing mojo.  I’ll get it back.  Or, I should say, the turtles will help me get my running blog mojo back but they will expect me to do something in return.  And, that is to try and help save some of them that are trying to get across highway 80.  If only those turtles would realize that the marsh is not always greener on the other side.  Their side of the marsh is pretty darn nice.  In the mean time, though, let’s see if we can save a few turtles.

Please, let’s try to figure out a way to save some turtles trying to cross highway 80 along Mcqueen’s Island on the way to Tybee island.

Runners for Turtles unite!

Thank you so much for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

Take care and God bless.

turtles and peace,

dh

05/30/2012

• Share