While taking pictures of Valdosta’s trash traps, I found a turtle in distress in the Lee Street detention pond trash trap above One Mile Branch.

Turtle upside down in trash trap, rightside, culverts, Lee Street detention pond 2023-04-24

That turtle did not look right.

Lee Street trash trap with turtle, above One Mile Branch

Yep, upside down, getting no traction. Apparently fell in.

Turtle is upside down

Being a farmer, I had a hoe in the truck. Which I used to turn the turtle over. The turtle appeared unharmed.

Turtle right side up

Pretty soon, the turtle headed back towards the upstream culvert. Looked like the problem was solved.

Movie: Turtle started towards culverts (63M)

Nope, the turtle really wanted to go downstream to the Lee Street detention pond.

Turtle really wanted to go to detention pond

So I crawled down the sloping metal screen. Picked up the turtle, and carried it up. I left it here, on an easy slope down to the outflow of the trash trap, leading to the detention pond.

So I set the turtle on a slope down to the pond

So far as I know, the turtle swims free.

I’d never thought of trash traps as wildlife problems. The floating ones, like the Baytree Road Two Mile Branch WaterGoat, a turtle could go over or go around at either shore. Fish should be able to swim under.

Baytree Road Watergoat, Two Mile Branch downstream

Ditto the Sugar Creek new and improved WaterGoat. Both One Mile Branch and Two Mile Branch lead to Sugar Creek, which drains into the Withlacoochee River, and on to the Suwannee River and the Gulf of Mexico.

Sugar Creek Watergoat, new and improved

I don’t imagine there are many fish in that drainage ditch at the Lee Street Detention Pond trash trap. But apparently it needs to be checked frequently for confused turtles.

Trash trap, Lee Street detention pond, above One Mile Branch

For more about the trash problem, see:
https://wwals.net/issues/trash

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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