I SSUE S IXTY WOOD TURTLES ON THE VERGE J ULY 2 0 1 9 By Marilyn Kitchell, Wildlife Biologist, Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge H i g h l i g h t s Garden Club Blind—Then and OOD TURTLE, Glyptemys insculpta. 3 W Now Combination of the Greek words Glyptos, meaning ‘carved’, and emys, meaning ‘freshwater tortoise’; Meet Potter Judy Schmidt 4 insculpta, from the Latin word insculptus, meaning ‘engraved’. Lives along permanent but shallow, clear- Screech Owl Numbers Decline 5 water streams with compacted sand and cobble bottoms. Spends much of its time on land and can be found Friends Celebrate 20th Year 6-7 in deciduous woods, cultivated fields, and marshy pastures, earning it the nickname ‘tortoise’ (land- dwelling) rather than ‘turtle’ (water-dwelling). Endemic to North America, it has survived multiple Volunteers Are Recognized 9 southward glacial encroachments and now ranges from Nova Scotia to Virginia.

Board of Directors he wood turtle Joe Balwierczak wouldn’t strike President most people as a Steve Herdman T charismatic creature. Vice-President

Walter Willwerth Solitary and silent, with Secretary coloration designed for Laurel Gould disappearance, the wood Treasurer turtle was never meant Jane Bell to stand out. For thou- sands of years the spe- John Berry cies has existed as a Allen Dreikorn fixture of once-abundant landscapes centered on Randi Emmer meandering cobble-

Susan Garretson Friedman bottom streams and the fields and forests that Ellen Greenhorn surround them. Photo: Jessica Piispanen/USFWS

Dave Katz And yet, as nondescript George Solovay as these animals are, a quiet charisma be- In many places throughout the Northeast, the comes clear to the careful observer. Turtles voids are real and haunting. Wood turtles are Janet Stadelmeier within a population seem to know each other. on the verge.

They hibernate together. Females Kathy Woodward Their populations remain as fractured rem- acknowledge others with graceful bows of nants on a landscape interrupted by subur- Laurel Gould the head, and willingly approach some males Editor while avoiding others. Males patrol their own ban sprawl. Their streams, degraded by silt sections of the stream. and erosion, are often flanked by paved Mike Horne death traps that mercilessly claim young and Project Leader Once you come to know these animals, you old with equanimity. The suburbs that have Lenape National Wildlife Refuge Complex can see wisdom in their eyes. You develop a closed in on them bring raccoons, who real sense that their absence from the land- munch on young hatchlings and full-grown scape would leave a gaping void in the life of adults alike. the land, like the passing of a loved one who Continued on page 10 Printed on recycled had been the quiet, steady rock at the center paper of your daily existence. ISSUE 60—JULY 2019 PAGE 2

PRESIDENT’S CORNER By Joe Balwierczak, President, Friends of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Euro, and the acquittal of President I have been a volunteer at Great Clinton. Put in that context, 1999 Swamp for going on eight years now seems a long time ago and indeed a lot and have seen the Friends expand its has changed in that time. Google and role at the refuge. Seeing the changes Facebook were unknown words then; in the organization and accomplish- today they are part of our daily vocabu- ments of many of the Friends commit- lary. We can’t imagine life today with- tees has been noteworthy. With the out our cell phones; did you even have continuation of the support and volun- a cell phone 20 years ago? teerism that the Friends membership shows today, the next 20 years prom- Certainly one can expect that the ise great things for Friends of Great Friends of Great Swamp has also Swamp NWR and for the Great Swamp changed in the last 20 years. It is not refuge that it helps to care for. The surprising that the Friends member- members of the Friends are invited to ship has grown and that the level of a celebration of the 20th anniversary at his year