Students release more than 100 terrapins into bay

Students release more than 100 terrapins into bay

By RYAN BAGWELL, Staff Writer

A handful of students from Davidsonville Elementary School stood on a mucky manmade beach and said farewell to their slippery green friend.

They passed Snappy the turtle from hand to hand, knowing their pet was only moments away from a better life at sea.

"Bye, Snappy," third-grader Robert Stoll said as he briefly embraced the critter before letting go.

With that, the children faced the water on this scorching day and watched their hard-shelled buddy scurry into the sea about four miles south of Kent Island. Snappy swam a few feet and poked his nose up through the water as if to say thanks - and goodbye.

Snappy and two other turtles that grew up in a tank at Mayo Elementary School were among 115 diamondback terrapins county students released into the wild yesterday as part of an eight-year study of how the critters develop into males and females.

Guided by Stephen Barry at the county's Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center in Millersville, students worked with Ohio University researcher Willem Roosenburg, who has been studying Maryland's official state reptile for more than 20 years.

Mr. Roosenburg will track each turtle the students raised over the course of the research project to see how the temperature of nests affects the terrapins' sex.

Students from 32 county schools raised the terrapins from the time they hatched in September. The 52 classes kept track of their growth, weighing the turtles weekly and measuring their inner and outer shells.

Trips to release the turtles started last week, with a long bus ride to Tilghman Island. There students boarded Terrapin, a jet-propelled boat run by Maryland Environmental Services, for a 20-minute voyage to the desolate Poplar Island sanctuary.

The remoteness of Poplar Island - which state and federal officials are working to rebuild after years of erosion - will help the terrapins thrive, researchers say. Any turtle nests on the island's remote beaches will be free from one of their main threats - raccoons.

The sun pummeled the island's young visitors as they took in a few short lessons about bay grasses, erosion and ecosystems.

"The terrapin's been the vehicle for teaching the kids about the bay watershed," said Will Williams, an Arlington Echo teacher. "And in the end, the kids learn about taking care of the bay by taking care of the terrapin."

Then it came time to let them go. But it wasn't easy.

"We got attached to them, and now that we have to see them go it's sad," said Heather Augustine, a Mayo third-grader.

One at a time, their stinky friends became part of the bay. First it was Davidsonville's Snappy, then Mayo's Speedy and Testudo.

"You got to see them go and live a new life," said Kady Palmer, the Mayo third-grader who released Spee dy.

Terp, Davidsonville's other tortoise, was sick. But he was listed in good condition at Arlington Echo.

Though the terrapin isn't listed as an endangered or threatened species, Mr. Roosenberg said its numbers are declining. Sandy bay beaches where diamondback terrapins thrive are giving way to popular waterfront development.

But officials hope the students' efforts will keep the state treasure alive for years to come.

"Hopefully, those kids will be thinking about what those terrapins are doing tonight," Mr. Barry said.

County schools spent about $8,000 on the terrapin project this year, with $6,000 raised through grants. Mr. Barry said students will raise turtles again next year.