To the editor:
While bicycling on Green River Cove Road, we noticed two Eastern Box Turtles working their way across the road. When we returned, one of them had been squashed, apparently a case of road kill. Seeing it almost immediately made me stop and think, and here’s what I’ve discovered:
These turtles, while not endangered, are a “priority species” in the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan. Populations are declining. It takes 7 – 10 years for one to become mature (to reproduce). And their most dangerous predators are humans. If you take one home and release it, chances are it will simply wander until it dies, as it only knows its original habitat. Also, with populations declining, every turtle is important.
So please slow down around those blind curves, particularly in wet weather. Give these turtles a fighting chance.

– Harry Forsha, Mill Spring