(
)
Stay the shell off the runways!
In a desperate bid to keep slow-moving turtles from causing delays at JFK, Port Authority officials are installing a massive barrier that will keep the critters in their natural habitat.
The plan is to deter the diamondback terrapins’ path with 4,000 feet of 8-inch-wide plastic piping along runway 4L, which juts into the bay near some of the native reptiles’ favorite area marshes, according to researchers.
“We’re trying to find a balance between nature and aviation,” said Port Authority spokesman Ron Marsico. “We don’t want to see the turtles get hurt, and this should keep the airport running smoothly.”
The turtles have made the airport’s runway part of their annual trek as they come on shore to nest, slowing service by forcing pilots to use other runways.
Marsico said airport employees removed around 1,300 turtles by hand last year during June and July, and that the new barrier will encourage the animals to nest elsewhere.
Dr. Russell Burke, a professor of biology at Hofstra University and a researcher at Jamaica Bay, thinks the plan will be effective, but is concerned that the barrier could make turtles more vulnerable to predators like raccoons.
“If you build a barrier like that, they might just walk along the barrier and nest there,” Burke said. “Between 90 and 100 percent of terrapin turtles are killed by predators, so they need to be given a fighting chance” he said.
The marshes around the runway provide an ideal habitat for the gentle creatures, Burke explained.
“These turtles are actually a protected species in New York,” Burke said, “but their numbers have gone up significantly in the area around the airport over the past five years or so.”
He estimates there could be as many as 20,000 of them.
“I think the barriers are a step in the right direction,” he added. “It should stop flight delays and will hopefully keep the turtles safe.”
Don Riepe, a Jamaica Bay guardian for the American Littoral Society, said he hopes the Port Authority’s barriers leave the turtles with enough room to lay their eggs.
“Many may give up on trying to cross [the runway], but they are very determined creatures,” he said. “They have to do something. You can’t have turtles running all over the runway. It’s not good for the airport, and it’s certainly not good for the turtles.”