Terrapin conservation in trouble due to state cuts

Oct 1, 2003
Terrapin conservation in trouble due to state cuts
By Jeremy Hsieh
Senior staff writer

The university's efforts to protect the diamondback terrapin - the university's mascot - are in limbo as a result of layoffs at the state Department of Natural Resources.

Marguerite Whilden, one of eight DNR employees laid off in July because of budget cuts, was in charge of terrapin conservation at DNR. Whilden was "the point person from the state side" to the university, said Brian Darmody, the university's assistant vice president for research and economic development.

Whilden worked with the university to establish the "Fear the Turtle" Fund in June 2002, helped create internships for students in the life sciences college and provided the terrapin used in the university's latest ad campaign.

Since the Fear the Turtle Fund began, merchandise bearing the slogan has raked in about $25,000 and the fund now has about $20,000 in it, Darmody said. For every garment sold featuring the "Fear the Turtle" slogan, 2 percent of the wholesale cost is set aside in the Fear the Turtle Fund, which the university oversees. The fund was originally intended to supplement DNR's terrapin conservation efforts and involve students.

The program will continue without a DNR point person, Darmody said, though Whilden's suggestions had largely determined how the fund was spent in the past.

"We're going to have to, you know, once things settle down, we're going to have to sit down with Marguerite or DNR or someone to see how the proceeds can best be used to preserve the terrapin," he said.

Conservation internships are rare, but are a valuable experience for students, said Bill Higgins, an associate professor of biology who worked with Darmody and Whilden to establish three paid terrapin conservation internships this past summer. He acknowledged a lack of direction in the conservation effort, but vowed to maintain the internships.

"I don't intend to let this go," Higgins said. "We can't let this go, especially at this institution, for gosh sakes."

"All I'm trying to do is to try to keep the animal on the planet," Whilden said. "It's a tolerant, resistant animal that's put up with a lot of abuse in recent years."

Whilden said she will continue to work with the university on a volunteer basis, though she is unsure in what capacity. In the past, Whilden had a role in hiring student interns with money from the fund to help her in field studies of the terrapin and educational programs.

Meanwhile at DNR, "Terrapin conservation is alive and well," said Howard King, director of the Maryland Fishery Service for DNR, noting that a pair of new geologic and wildlife surveys will provide new information about terrapins' nesting habits and their population in the Chesapeake Bay.

However, more than studies and surveys are needed for conservation, Whilden said.

"Do you need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind is blowing? I know the [terrapin] populations are decreasing through logic," Whilden said. "Studying the animal, studying the habitat doesn't always translate into conservation," she said, emphasizing the importance of engaging citizens in conservation.

"All the science in the world isn't going to save the species," Whilden said. "If it takes a football team or a TV commercial to get people interested to save a species, so be it."