Turtles A Hurdle To East Hampton Pond Excavation - 27 East

Turtles A Hurdle To East Hampton Pond Excavation

icon 4 Photos
Volunteers searched Town Pond in East Hampton for hibernating turtles on Sunday.

Volunteers searched Town Pond in East Hampton for hibernating turtles on Sunday.

Dell Cullum and other wildlife advocates searched for turtles in hibernating beneath the mud in Town Pond, which East Hampton Village is in the midst of dredging.

Dell Cullum and other wildlife advocates searched for turtles in hibernating beneath the mud in Town Pond, which East Hampton Village is in the midst of dredging. Michael Heller

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen and wildlife advocate Dell Cullum discussed the need to remove hibernating turtles from the mud of Town Pond before the pond is excavated.

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen and wildlife advocate Dell Cullum discussed the need to remove hibernating turtles from the mud of Town Pond before the pond is excavated. Michael Heller

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen and wildlife advocate Dell Cullum discussed the need to remove hibernating turtles from the mud of Town Pond before the pond is excavated.

East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen and wildlife advocate Dell Cullum discussed the need to remove hibernating turtles from the mud of Town Pond before the pond is excavated. Michael Heller

authorMichael Wright on Mar 3, 2021

The excavation of Town Pond was halted this week after wildlife advocates said they feared turtles hibernating in the muck that is being removed would be harmed by the work.

A week into the excavation work that is expected to remove more than 10,000 tons of mud and decaying organic matter, a group called Turtle Rescue of The Hamptons alerted the village that there were likely turtles sleeping in the muck through the colder months that would not have fled when the disturbance started.

Over the weekend, members of the group and wildlife advocate Dell Cullum dug and poked in the black porridge of the now exposed pond bottom for signs of slumbering turtles. They found just one, but said that a thorough survey of the mud would take much longer.

Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said on Monday that he has ordered the excavation work halted for one week to allow the turtle rescuers to continue the search, though he noted that they are finding the work difficult and laborious.

He said that a long delay could be problematic for the village because the excavation company, Bistrian Materials, has other projects on its schedule and turning away from the project and returning could be costly.

“We put everything on hold for a week and the people who are trying to rescue the turtles think they will be able to get them all out by then, so we’re going to all get together on Thursday and talk about where things stand,” Mr. Larsen said on Tuesday. “If we were going to delay longer than that, we’ll have to talk about what the financial impacts on the village would be. As of today, they have pulled out three turtles, none of them are endangered species, I’m told, and I don’t think they know how many turtles could be in there.”

None of the turtles found thus far have been native species. A turtle removed from the muck on Sunday was a species know as a red earned slider, a common pet species that is native to the Southwest desert and Mexico, but has become one of the most common invasive species in other regions because of people releasing the pets into the wild. Mr. Cullum said that three turtles removed are being given “new homes” since they can’t be released back into the wild. He said the wildlife advocates fear there could be native species like snapper turtles in the pond, but has yet to see any evidence of one.

The approximately $900,000 project to remove several feet of pollution-soaked muck from the bottom of the pond began last month and was scheduled to take about a month to complete. It’s the latest phase in an effort by the village to reduce the amount of pollution that flows from the business district and surrounding residential neighborhoods through Town Pond and into Hook Pond, which has been plagued for years by sometimes dense algae blooms. Other phases have included the creation of “rain gardens” and bio-swales along the path that water trickles through the Hook Mill area and south of downtown in an effort to remove nitrogen and other pollutants from the water before it reaches Town Pond and Hook Pond.

You May Also Like:

A Shinnecock Thanksgiving

“When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.” ... 13 Nov 2024 by Jenny Noble

Southampton Trustees, Baymen Looking for Ways To Protect Resurgent Clam Stocks in Shinnecock Bay

While the commercial harvest of bay scallops from local waters has been all but ended ... by Michael Wright

President-Elect Trump Taps Lee Zeldin, Former 1st District Representative, as EPA Chief

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin to administer the Environmental Protection ... 11 Nov 2024 by Christopher Walsh

Local Animal Nonprofits Rescue, Rehabilitate, Release and Find Forever Homes

With the South Fork’s rich history and bountiful wildlife, different nonprofits are dedicated to helping ... 7 Nov 2024 by Julianne Mosher

Watch: Your Voice Matters - Climate Resiliency on the South Fork

In this episode of “Your Voice Matters,” hear from leaders, activists and locals working to ... 5 Nov 2024 by Staff Writer

John Avlon and Nick LaLota on the Environment | 1st District Matters

As we face ever more severe weather, Long Island is a frontline region in navigating ... 31 Oct 2024 by The Express News Group & WLIW-FM

Sixth Year of Die-Offs Hit Bay Scallops; Genetic Diversity Could Be Factor

The biologists doing surveys of local bay bottoms ahead of the annual bay scallop harvest ... 23 Oct 2024 by Michael Wright

A Home for ‘Pollinators of The Night’ at LongHouse

A collaborative effort last week helped to complete the creation of a native woodland pollinator ... 22 Oct 2024 by Christopher Walsh

Friends Don't Let Friends Vote for Trump

“Knocking on doors is the only foolproof plan I’ve ever come up with for curing ... 10 Oct 2024 by Jenny Noble

East Hampton’s Water Quality Committee Issues Grant Recommendations

East Hampton Town’s Water Quality Technical Advisory Committee, which considers the merits of applications to ... 9 Oct 2024 by Christopher Walsh