"As turtles grow, they start out having a lot of small eggs, but as they mature, they have fewer but larger eggs," says David Mifsud a wetland scientists working with Consumers Energy.
David is giving a group a hands-on lesson about the importance of turtles in our ecosystem. He is part of a team working with Consumer’s Energy to protect and manage wetland wildlife along the path of Consumer’s Energy construction projects.
The wetland is a part of the Mid-Michigan Pipeline Project and the turtles being released came from the eggs of adult females that were safely removed from the pipeline path last year and were incubated and nurtured by David’s company Herpetological Resource Management.
Consumers Energy spokesperson Brian Wheeler says the natural pipeline serves all their customers in the Lansing region.
"Environmental mitigation is so important because we're making sure we do protect the turtles and leave the world better than we found it.”
The efforts can sometimes take multiple years, but the results are impressive. David says they have saved a lot of wildlife.
“6,000 amphibians and reptiles were saved from the project corridor."
Part of the initiative is engaging communities to foster that next generation of conservation minded individuals. To do that, Consumer’s Energy invited their employee’s children to be of the turtle release program.
“I think it’s important because they are endangered species and they are getting close to extension. We need to help them,” says Isla Tramontana.
The regular rescue and release of turtles is one of many steps Consumers Energy is taking to protect the environment while investing in infrastructure upgrades.
"Consumers Energy is a good neighbor because they lead by example," says David. "They are incredible stewards of the landscape."
We want to say thank you to Consumer’s Energy and its efforts in saving the turtles and other natural habitat. They are this week’s Good Neighbors.
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