Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

In the end, we will conserve only what we love;
we will love only what we understand;
and we will understand only what we have been taught.

- Baba Dioum

We all love our box turtles, don’t we? Well, we have a chance to help make them our state reptile but your email to our state delegates is needed to make this happen. Here are the emails for Joe May DelJMay@house.state.va.us and David Poisson DelDPoisson@house.virginia.gov.  You can find other delegates here. Just a quick note asking them to pass this legislation making the Eastern Box Turtle our state reptile will make a difference and will only take a minute to do (maybe less if you type fast) .

Here’s a great note I received from our local reptile expert, Dennis Desmond, on this subject. He talks about why this status would help our Eastern Box Turtles and what you can do:

For the past several years many people  have tried to make the Eastern Box Turtle the state reptile.  Recently, Deborah Brehony has been able to make headway in crafting a bill that would make this a reality.  Deborah related to me today that this measure has passed the VA Senate and is now headed for the House.  I hope you will take a moment to send a note to Virginia’s representatives encouraging them to support this bill.

The Eastern Box turtle has been in Virginia for millions of years, and, although not uniquely tied to Virginia, it is nevertheless a staple of the Virginia environment.  Hundreds of adults and children alike have mentioned to u during displays and presentations how they would see box turtles grazing amongst the strawberries in their yards, or how they would stop to move a box turtle from the road as its negotiated the ever increasing and deadly traffic.  Unfortunately, several people have also told us that they are seeing fewer and fewer box turtles in their neighborhoods.  Because of the rapid pace of development that has been occurring in Virginia for the past two decades, the eastern box turtle is in rapid decline throughout the state and has probably been extirpated from parts of Northern Virginia.

By selecting the Eastern Box Turtle as the state reptile, it will share a special place with other Virginia wildlife including its birds, mammals, and insects and will earn recognition as an important part of the Virginia landscape.  While it will not receive special protection, its selection will certainly bring greater attention to the potential loss of this very beautiful and certainly unique member of the reptile family that has made its home in Virginia