all winter. Lynn hopes that her story will inspire others to fight for sea turtles and all other threatened species of marine life. While it is not likely you will come across a sea turtle on Long Beach Island, it is possible you will find a Diamondback Terrapin. Terrapins are often confused with sea turtles. A clear distinction is that sea turtles have flippers suitable for swimming, whereas terrapins have claws fit for land. Terrapins inhabit the brackish marshes along the Long Beach Island shoreline. Often times, though, they will establish nests along the base of homes or on highly-frequented beaches that humans will disturb, thus harming the developing embryos. Accordingly, the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences (LBIF) has teamed up with John Wnek, a pioneer of terrapin research and conservation in the Barnegat Bay area, to develop a hatchery for terrapins. The purpose of Project Terrapin is to protect the embryos from human interference during their early stages of development. The LBIF hatchery incubates the eggs for 6090 days and then returns the eggs to adjacent marshes, where the mother terrapin originally nested. Project Terrapin was launched two years ago and continues to attract support and momentum as the need for terrapin conservation expands. The program trains 15-20 volunteers each year to locate nests throughout the Barnegat Bay area. LBIF recommends you call its main office (609-494-1241) if you ever come across a terrapin nesting site. Handling the terrapin eggs is illegal in New Jersey, primarily because the eggs are very vulnerable. According to John Wnek, moving a nesting site after it is in place for more than 24 hours can seriously interfere with embryo development. For more information about the LBIF Hatchery and Project Terrapin, visit
Ocvts.org/matesbulletinboard and enter “project terrapin” or email projectterrapin@gmail.com. There are many different ways to help conserve and protect our environment’s turtles. Make a difference in your community today by telling one person how human interference harms the life of a Kemp Ridley sea turtle or Diamondback Terrapin. That one person will tell another person and, gradually, the story of these endangered species will spread. It is our hope that the story will continue to spread far and wide, so future generations will be able to enjoy these remarkable creatures. — Elizabeth Weber •