Volunteers needed this Saturday

Volunteers needed to erect a turtle fence on along Cedar Hill Road.

To stop box turtles from getting run over near the entrance to Cedar Hill Road Park, the township has OKed a turtle fence (a 2 foot high silt fence) if we can get volunteers to put it up.
When: Saturday, June 26, 8-12AM (early start to beat the mid-day summer sun)
Where: Park cars at Cedar Hill Road Park parking lot. Work site is across the street from the park entrance.
Type of work: Mainly shoveling dirt and pounding in fence stakes.
For more info, contact: Ret Turner, 215-643-4397, returner@voicenet.com. Please RSVP for full details and what to bring.





The Eastern box turtle is in serious trouble in Horsham Township and surrounding areas. Many factors are putting it in
jeopardy, including:
• Ongoing loss and fragmentation of habitat
• Roadway mortality
• Injuries or death from lawnmowers and other machinery
• Collection by people for pets and commercial poaching
In Pennsylvania (and many other states) the Eastern box turtle is protected. It is illegal to catch, take or harm them, or to
possess a box turtle that has been taken from the wild. [regulating authority: PA Fish and Boat Commission]
Here’s how you can help save our local box turtles in Horsham Township from dying out:
• Watch out for turtles in the road, especially during June & early July when females are searching for a place to
nest. If you come upon a turtle in the road, stop in the road if you can do so safely, thereby blocking other
vehicles from running over the turtle. Turn on your 4-way flashers. Take the turtle out of the roadway (be
careful if it’s a snapper turtle), over to the side where it was headed. If it was headed to an untenable area,
return it to the side it was coming from, placing it well away from the roadway.
• If you live by turtle habitat, watch out for turtles when mowing the lawn or using other machinery on the yard.
• If you see a turtle that’s been injured in the road or by a lawn mower, take it to a wildlife rehabilitation facility,
such as the Schuykill Center Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia (215.482.8217.)
• If you see a turtle in the woods, take pictures and admire it, but leave it be. Box turtles should never be taken for
a pet. It’s bad for the turtle and jeopardizes the local turtle population. And it’s ILLEGAL! Never relocate a box
turtle far from its home range. It has to stay put, otherwise it will wander around trying to find its way back to its
“home turf”, likely dying in the attempt.
• Support efforts to set aside enough natural habitat to sustain a viable box turtle population.