By Nathan Vine
Concerned citizens, two state agencies, a county and a team of "turtle wranglers" are joining forces to help rare and common turtles cross the road more safely at a Portage County site identified as one of Wisconsin's most dangerous crossings for turtles and other wildlife.
Andrew Badje, a conservation biologist who coordinates the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said turtles – primarily spin softshell, painted, and snapping – nest along the gravel shoulders of State Highway 66 just south of Jordan Park near the dam.
Unfortunately, that can sometimes lead to turtles being run over by vehicles and killed. In 2015, a state Department of Transportation design team along with county officials and a professor and a group of student "turtle wranglers" from UW-Stevens Point who were working to identify where turtles were crossing the road found a total of 66 turtles carcasses along a quarter-mile stretch of road. All Wisconsin turtles lay their eggs in nests in uplands, and female turtles getting run over while trying to cross to nesting areas is considered one of the leading causes of declining turtle numbers in the state.
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