As the temperatures rise, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation urges motorists to be on the alert for turtles and amphibians crossing roadways.
With the arrival of spring temperatures, frogs, salamanders, toads, and more start their annual migrations to woodland pools to breed - and often, they must often cross road roads to do so. This usually happens in late March and early April here in the Hudson Valley when the night air temperature is above 40 degrees.
Native turtles are on the move in May and June as they seek sandy areas or loose soil to lay their eggs. In New York, thousands of turtles are killed each year when they are struck by vehicles as they move to their nesting areas. All 11 species of land turtles that are native to the state are declining.
Drivers are encouraged to proceed with caution or avoid travel on the first warm, rainy evenings of the season. Amphibians come out after nightfall and are slow moving, which means mortality can be high even on low-traffic roads. If you see a turtle on the road, please try to avoid hitting it with your car without swerve suddenly or leaving your lane.
When conditions are right, there can be explosive, “big night” migrations, with hundreds of amphibians on the move. Volunteers in the Hudson Valley can help document the locations for the Amphibian Migration and Road Crossings Project and help amphibians like wood frogs, spotted salamanders, American toads, or spring peepers safely cross the road.
For more information on volunteer location documenting, log onto https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/rmediation_hudson_pdf/amrcfactsheet.pdf.