Kowabdanawa odë kė

Turtles Crossing Tribal Roads

Have you seen turtles crossing roads adjacent to tribal properties? If so, you can help. Remember the location you found the turtle in and if you are able to safely pick up the turtle, you can bring it to the Kowabdanawa odë kė main office (32142 Edwards) and we will check the turtle for a monitoring tag and then return the turtle to the location it was picked up from. This will help us keep track of our turtles and help with our surveying efforts. If you find a turtle off of tribal properties, crossing a road, you can help the turtle by safely stopping (using your hazards and pulling alongside the road) and helping the turtle move in the direction the head of the turtle is facing. Most turtles are easy to pick up, snapping turtles may be more difficult and, if you don't feel confident in helping to move one, they can typically be coaxed off the road with a branch and human movement. Did you find an injured turtle trying to cross the road? These turtles can be brought to our main office as well. We will evaluate the turtle and determine if the turtle can be taken to a wildlife rehabilitator. Any related turtle questions can be directed to our main office line at (269) 782-9602.