Diamondback Terrapin Rescue

The Skidaway Audubon Diamondback Terrapin Rescue project is one the largest endeavors of its kind along the East Coast of the United States. The diamondback terrapin is the only turtle species in the U.S. that lives in brackish waters along the East Coast tidal marshes, creeks and estuaries. They can be found as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, down the eastern seaboard and west over to Corpus Christi, Texas.

 
In 2002, the project founder, Carolyn McInerney, was having a dinner party at her home on Hole 3 of what is now named Terrapin Point Golf Course. While sipping a drink on her back porch with her guests, she spotted her first nesting turtle in one of the bunkers. Being a nature lover, she was very excited about the prospect of seeing baby turtles from this event. Unfortunately, her excitement was short lived when she found the nest destroyed by predators the next morning. She contacted naturalist John Crawford with the UGA Marine Science Center and started a one woman conservation program. 

Diamondback terrapins were harvested almost to extinction in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s for soups and stews.  Under the Endangered Wildlife Act of 1973, diamondback terrapins are included as a protected species and are subject to the rules and regulations. This law allows each state to determine the vulnerability of each species for their state. In Georgia, the diamondback terrapin is classified as a “Species of Concern” and is under the protection of the GA Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR).

Currently, a team of about 15-20 volunteers continue Carolyn’s work, still under the continued direction of naturalist John Crawford, to locate nesting turtles and protect their eggs. With John’s support, we are listed as sub-permittees under his GA DNR Scientific Collection Permit which allows us to handle this protected species.

Our team can be seen in our golf carts (flying a Skidaway Audubon flag) on the Terrapin Point Golf Court from late April to early August looking for nesting females. From mid-July through mid-October, the volunteers are checking the nesting boxes for baby turtles that have hatched and are ready to go to the marsh.  Hatchlings are released immediately upon discovery.