MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is encouraging the public to help protect turtles by slowing down on roadways, reporting turtle crossings and protecting nests during nesting season.

As the weather warms from late May into June, female turtles emerge from rivers, lakes and wetlands and travel to nesting sites. Wisconsin’s 11 turtle species lay eggs in shallow, buried nests, often along roads and in residential yards.

Road mortality is a leading cause of turtle population declines across the state, according to the DNR.

People can help by reporting sightings to the DNR’s Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program, which receives 600 to 1,000 turtle reports from across the state each year. The reports help the department identify major turtle crossing hotspots, prioritize conservation efforts and guide other protection work.

“Some protected species are also taken illegally from the wild and sold in the illegal pet trade,” said Andrew Badje, a DNR conservation biologist. “Protecting adult females and turtle nests in the wild is essential for conserving Wisconsin turtle populations.”

Wisconsinites can help turtles from now through July by taking the following steps:

More information is available on the Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program’s website.

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