Protecting New Jersey’s Rahway River Wetlands with Diamondback Terrapins

The lower stretch of New Jersey’s Rahway River is under threat. There is increasing pressure to bisect the wetlands with yet another unnecessary road project – despite the fact that it is home to wildlife found no where else in the area.

One of the residents of this marsh habitat is the Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), listed as a species of special concern. Nonprofit group National Biodiversity Parks (NBP) hopes to protect and conserve this highly threatened area by studying its diamondback terrapin population.

The field data collected by the study will document the habitat’s value and generate recommendations concerning the long-term conservation of the terrapins on the Rahway River, inclusive of is feeder creeks – and as a result, protect this habitat for the multitude of resident and migratory species that require this specialized habitat for their survival.

Researchers and volunteers will gather data to establish basic constructs about the terrapin population, including its demographics, and the exact occupancy localities in the lower river. This includes notation of the following:

• Current permanent basking sites.
• Potential man-made basking sites to be proposed in the future.
• Potential man-made nest sites to be proposed in the future.

Any change in this population – and measurement of the effects and success of any subsequent conservation actions – will be compared to the baseline data generated by NBP’s study. In addition, the results will be used to make recommendations to NJDEP, Cape Branch Foundation, National Biodiversity Parks, Inc., New Jersey Conservation Foundation, Rahway River Association RA, and any other stakeholders requiring data for conservation actions.

The Rahway River is the largest river in Union County, New Jersey, and the largest river flowing to the Arthur Kill shared by New York and New Jersey.  The pristine habitat of the lower 2 ½ mile stretch of New Jersey’s Rahway River consists of several hundred acres of the best estuarine, marsh habitat remaining in the region.

Diamondback terrapins – nearly “eaten to extinction”

By the early 1900′s, there were hardly any diamondback terrapins left.

Considered a gourmet delicacy and prestigious to serve, this tasty turtle was the main ingredient in terrapin soup or stew. To make matters worse, at nearly three times the size of males and said to yield a superior stew, females were in even greater demand. In Maryland, the only state that kept records, terrapin harvests peaked in 1891 when 58,000 females were captured… oddly enough Prohibition saved the Diamondback. Sherry was a must-have ingredient for the stew and without it, the dish was all but forgotten.

Unfortunately, diamondback terrapins have a had a difficult time recovering. Even though hunting the terrapins is prohibited, the species still faces a long list of mostly human-induced threats:

• Intense coastal development
• Loss of nesting habitat
• Predation, especially of eggs
• Roadkill
• Killed or injured by boat propellers
• Drowning in commercial or abandoned crab traps

The Diamondback Terrapin is the only living turtle species that can exclusively live in brackish water.

Here’s to NBP’s efforts to protect diamondback terrapins – and the Rahway River wetlands!

Image credit: Blaine Rothauser, via Fred Virrazzi, National Biodiversity Parks