The endangered bog turtle became the official reptile of New Jersey, a designation that Gov. Phil Murphy came to a Princeton elementary school on June 18 to sign into law.
Before a crowd of school children and others, Murphy sat inside Riverside Elementary School to sign legislation designating the tiny turtle of all of 4 inches as New Jersey’s first state reptile.
“We have to look out for our environment,” the governor said along side some of the state lawmakers who sponsored the legislation to recognize the bog turtle. “If we don’t protect the bog turtle now, then someday we may have a New Jersey without any bog turtles. And we do not want that.”
The bog turtle, designated as a threatened species by the federal government, can be found in 12 New Jersey counties, including Mercer, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Previously, the turtle had been found in most of the state. New Jersey has listed the turtle as an endangered species since the 1970s.
“The greatest threats to the bog turtle are the loss, degradation and fragmentation of its habitat from wetland alteration, development, pollution, invasive species and natural vegetation succession,” the federal government has said. Another threat to the turtle, the government said, is the “illegal wildlife trade.”
Murphy came to the school where the impetus behind recognizing the bog turtle started.
Before the governor spoke, Jamie Acevedo, a Riverside fifth-grader, explained the history of how students in Princeton decided to take matters into their own hands to make it happen. He said a science teacher at Riverside, Mark Eastburn, had come back from a workshop in North Carolina and told students that the box turtle, which Riverside has a population of, is that state’s official reptile.
“When students realized New Jersey did not have a state reptile of its own, we all decided this was a matter that needed our immediate attention,” Jamie said.
Students at Riverside and Community Park School urged the state to act, with some even testifying before state Senate and Assembly committees on the issue earlier this year.
State. Sen. Kip Bateman (R-Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon) sponsored legislation to give the bog turtle its new designation. The bill passed with bipartisan support, something Bateman in his remarks highlighted at a time when the state is facing a possible government shutdown with a deadline fast approaching to pass a budget.
“It shows that you can work together, Republicans and Democrats,” Bateman said at the ceremony. “And bog turtles are not partisan. They’re bipartisan.”
Another student speaker thanked lawmakers for passing the turtle bill.
“We are very grateful Democrats and Republicans can come together and support this,” said Jeremy Wachtel, a Riverside fifth-grader.
A parent of one of the students, speaking after the bill signing, touched on how her son and his classmates had worked for the legislation.
“It’s emotional, because it’s a great memory for the kids and a great achievement for Mr. Eastburn,” said Sinthia Acevedo, mother of Jamie.
Eastburn wore a green tie with turtles on it for the occasion. During the bill signing, Murphy gave him one of the pens he used to make the bog turtle designation state law.
“The fact that we’re actually helping highlight a critically endangered species in the state that wouldn’t get attention otherwise,” Eastburn said afterward, “I mean, that’s really the greatest thing.”
