Deborah Powell
Published online May 20, 2026, at www.pontiacjournal.com.
MRC PONTIAC – The region’s turtles are on the move, and motorists are being urged to watch for them on roads and trails. Carapace.ca, a Quebec-based citizen science project that tracks turtle sightings and road mortality, is again encouraging residents to submit turtle observations. The website also offers tips on what to do in a variety of situations involving turtles. More than 1,200 observations were submitted last year.
Data from Carapace.ca reports and other sources has been verified by biologists in the field. In a project led by CREDDO (Outaouais Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development) and Quebec’s wildlife ministry (MELCCFP), measures to reduce road mortality at collision “hotspots” will be introduced in the coming years.
Drivers may notice “exclusion fences” along parts of Highway 303 in Clarendon. The fences are designed to keep turtles off road shoulders and guide them toward safe crossing areas. Signs warning motorists about busy turtle areas are also expected in other parts of the Pontiac.
Turtles can also be at risk in the water. A nautical awareness campaign launched in 2024 by MELCCFP aims to raise awareness among fishers and boaters about ways to reduce turtle injuries and deaths linked to boating and fishing. The campaign encourages people to slow down in bays and shallow areas, avoid places where turtles are basking, use barbless hooks and stop fishing if turtles are seen swimming nearby.
Because both the MRC Pontiac and the Municipality of Pontiac are rich in turtle species and populations, researchers continue to focus attention on the region. One ongoing project is studying how young Blanding’s turtles are surviving and joining the breeding population in the Bristol Marsh area. The project includes a “headstart” program for young turtles at Montreal’s Biodome.
All Pontiac turtles hatched at the Biodome, or taken there as hatchlings, will be returned to their original habitat. Some are expected to return this June.
Happy World Turtle Day, May 23!
Photo – Pontiac turtles have been on the move since at least the end of April. This Blanding’s turtle, one of several turtle species considered at risk, was photographed along a local roadside in early May. (Jennifer Haughton)
