Some worry progress will slow as `Turtle Lady' laid off
Her terrapin education, conservation effort lauded

Byline: Michael Dresser
Source: SUN STAFF

Published on Monday, August 11, 2003
Section: LOCAL     Page: 1B
Edition: FINAL


© 2003 The Baltimore Sun


   GRASONVILLE - For the last decade, the diamondback terrapin - symbol of the
University of Maryland and a species fighting for its niche in the ecosystem -
has had Marguerite Whilden as its full-time advocate in state government.
   Now she is gone from the state payroll, and the future of the modest
terrapin conservation program she ran is up in the air.
    Whilden, known widely as "the Turtle Lady," was one of about 80 state
employees laid off last month as part of the Ehrlich administration's plan to
cut $208 million from this year's budget to deal with Maryland's revenue
shortfall.
   Supporters of terrapin conservation called Whilden's termination a serious
loss for the state, but a Department of Natural Resources official dismissed
her as merely a "cheerleader" for the species.
   "She's been the guru of the terrapins for a number of years," said Del.
Virginia P. Clagett, an Arundel County Democrat who recently served on a
terrapin task force.
   "There is no terrapin program without Mrs. Whilden," said William Moulden,
who was chairman of the 1999 Maryland Diamondback Terrapin Task Force. "When
she walks out the door, any interest in saving the official state reptile goes
with her."
   The spending cuts and layoffs were approved by the Board of Public Works
late last month, and Whilden was one of eight DNR employees to be terminated.
   News of Whilden's layoff from her nonpolitical, $47,319-a-year job filtered
across Annapolis last week. When approached for an interview, Whilden
reluctantly agreed, saying she was concerned about the future of the
conservation program for the official state reptile.
   Whilden, 50, was still working with turtles last week - but not on the
state payroll. She and intern Jeff Popp were at the privately owned Horsehead
Wetlands Center in Queen Anne's County, caring for turtles.

   No `downside'
   Whilden, a 30-year department employee, said "there's no bitterness" over
her layoff. She said she knows DNR officials had to make a lot of tough
decisions, but wonders why they decided to cut a program that has been
bringing in money from private and federal sources to pay for its conservation
efforts.
   "This is not about me. It's about a program the public really supported and
didn't have a downside," she said. "I'm just trying to figure out what's not
to like."
   Whilden spoke while showing a visitor around a small turtle conservation
sanctuary on the grounds of the Horsehead center, which is owned by the
private Wildfowl Trust. Along a small beach on Cabin Creek, dozens of small
flags fluttered in the breeze - each marking the site of a present or past
terrapin egg deposit.
   Nearby stands a small garage rented by the state with tanks housing more
than a dozen adult terrapins and hatchlings. On a shelf are trays of turtle
eggs being incubated. Whilden said she doesn't know what will happen to the
breeding efforts when the state stops its $300 monthly rent payments.
   The prospects for Whilden's terrapin project looked much brighter in June
2002, when then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening visited the site to publicize the
state's terrapin conservation efforts - some of them funded by the University
of Maryland's "Fear the Turtle" product licensing program.
   But even before Glendening left office, the department was already cutting
back the educational outreach component of Whilden's job - instructing her to
end a popular program under which she brought terrapins into the schools.
   Mike Slattery, assistant DNR secretary for resource management, said the
department was not eliminating its turtle conservation efforts - just its
education and outreach component.
   "We understand it was a popular program. It's just not one that was
mission-critical," he said. "That does not mean that DNR does not care about
terrapin conservation."
   Slattery said the department will no longer have a central coordinator of
terrapin conservation efforts. He explained that DNR is responsible for
hundreds of vertebrate species in the state, none of which has its own
advocate on the department payroll.
   Slattery called Whilden's role that of a "cheerleader" for terrapin
conservation. "We can't afford the luxury of a cheerleader for the program,"
he said.
   Moulden said the "cheerleader" description reflected the hostility of the
DNR brass toward Whilden's proactive approach to habitat conservation.

   `Cheap shot'
   "That's just their spiteful characterization of the service she was
performing for this state," he said, adding that her approach to conservation
put her at odds with the "crisis management" orientation of top department
bureaucrats.
   "I know she's been a thorn in the side of the department since she's been
there because she's challenged the bosses to a higher standard," Moulden said.
   Whilden said Slattery's characterization of her duties "minimizes the value
of the program and it's a very cheap shot."
   She said her duties included research, advising waterfront property owners
on preserving terrapin breeding grounds, writing grant proposals and even
doing the hands-on work of tagging turtles.
   Phyllis Koenings, executive director of the Assateague Coast Trust, said
Whilden had given the group important guidance on how to protect terrapins in
the Eastern Shore's coastal bays.
   "She's always been a resource for us when we've had questions about
terrapins," Koenings said.
   Whilden, a lifelong Republican, said she visited Ehrlich in his Washington
office when he was a congressman and came away with the impression that he was
a big supporter of terrapin preservation.
   "I know he is. He just didn't get the full picture. I love that guy. I have
a lot of hope for him," she said.
   At public events, Ehrlich has supported terrapin conservation. In June, he
joined former state Sen. Bernie Fowler at an environmental event in Southern
Maryland where they released a terrapin into the wild. (According to Whilden,
the reptile was raised from the egg stage in the Horsehead facility.)
   Henry Fawell, a spokesman for Ehrlich, said the governor is standing behind
the department's layoff recommendations.
   "There are a number of highly qualified scientists at DNR who will have
oversight over the species," he said.
   Regardless of what happens with the DNR program, Whilden said she hopes to
remain active in turtle protection - whether as a volunteer or on another
organization's payroll. She said people can learn a lot from the colorful
reptiles.
   "The turtle has taught us to be tolerant and persistent," she said.

ILLUSTRATION: Photo(s)
GRAPH_SOURCE: ANDRE F. CHUNG : SUN STAFF
CAPTION: Marguerite Whilden, the former Department of Natural Resources program manager of terrapin conservation, holds a diamondback terrapin. She
lost her job due to the state's budget shortfall.