STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — For decades, diamondback terrapins faced devastating odds. The species was nearly hunted to extinction throughout the 19th and 20th centuries to provide meat for turtle soup, a popular delicacy during the time.

Even later, around 15 years ago, the species appeared scarce on Staten Island, a location that seemed ideal for the only aquatic turtle that lives in brackish waters — a mix of saltwater and freshwater — that are present in the borough’s coastal marshes and tidal creeks.

Dr. Russel Burke, a professor of biology at Hofstra University on Long Island who has been studying terrapins in the Jamaica Bay for 25 years, was conducting surveys with students in the 2010s to understand the distribution of diamondback terrapins in New York City and came to the determination few, if any, were present in the studied areas on the borough.

He suspects the researchers simply missed the turtles, which have shells between about three to six inches long for males and six to nine inches long for females, but the findings still suggested they were not overly abundant.

That study took place before the Fresh Kills landfill transitioned to Freshkills Park, a now-expansive area reclaimed by nature and soon to be (at-least-partially) opened to the public. Now, diamondback terrapins are being noticed in greater abundance there, nesting along the creeks that crawl through the 2,200 acre space teeming with wildlife.

Their presence, said Burke, is a positive sign for the extensive recovery effort underway on the borough’s West Shore.

“Terrapins are important in a lot of ways. For one thing, they’re strong indicators of a healthy environment,” said Burke. “If you’ve got good terrapin populations, then a lot of other things are obviously going right.”

Diamondback terrapins consume invertebrates that typically eat plants in marshes, keeping those herbivores in check and retaining balance in the ecosystem. At their leisure, they sometimes bask in the sun along banks at low tide or float with their head popped just above the surface.

To make it to the sanctuary of Freshkills Park, said Jose Ramirez-Garofalo, the vice president of Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, the turtles are coming up through the Arthur Kill, traversing Richmond Creek and Main Creek — two main waterways that run like arteries through Freshkills Park — and finding suitable nesting grounds near the sandy soil along the coastline and on the mounds that offer unprecedented views from the greenspace.

“They are across all 2,200 acres of our site,” said Ramirez-Garofalo, who noted population studies are underway at the park to determine the extent of the species.

Freshkills Park and the Bayonne Bridge in the distance. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

Elle Hulett, the aquarist at the Staten Island Zoo in West Brighton, began a focus on diamondback terrapin while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Ohio. After that research, the Staten Island Zoo supported her efforts to continue studying the species.

After regulations were passed to eliminate the trapping of the turtles for food, Hulett said they began to make a recovery. However, a range of other risks still threaten diamondback terrapins, including development on the burgeoning West Shore.

“They are tidal wetland creatures, so any of these sort of areas that are urbanizing and developing, they’ve been impacted by that development,” said Hulett.

Ramirez-Garofalo echoed those concerns.

“Of course, there has to be a balance. Some of this development is absolutely vital to energy independence as well as climate mitigation,” said Ramirez-Garofalo. “We need to make sure that just because a project is necessary, doesn’t mean that we can just decimate the environment.”

At Freshkills Park, though, habitat is abundant, offering both diamondback terrapins a haven to nest and researchers a place to better understand the unique creatures.

“We’re very fortunate that a large swath of this habitat is now protected by Freshkills Park, as well as Brookfield Park,” said Hulett. “So that is really excellent news for the terrapins, and it works out well for us because it gives us a really good place to study them and sort of see what’s going on with their population and if there’s anything we can do to help them nest more successfully.”

PREDATORS A CONCERN

Diamondback terrapins lay clutches of eggs on areas near the shore, digging a few inches into the ground and burying them before retreating back into the water. After the female terrapin flees, predation remains a stark concern.

Raccoons and foxes are keen at finding the eggs and digging them up, almost immediately after they’re laid, experts said.

That will require innovative solutions for future nesting seasons, experts said, especially as diamondback terrapins still face a number of challenges — from being crushed under car tires to continued loss of habitat.

“If we are making sure that species like terrapins can flourish, then we’re making sure that other species can flourish from the natural places,” said Hulett. “Everything from birds to inverts to small mammals, we’re creating a whole ecosystem for them here, and it is really unique in New York City to have this much biodiversity in a park.”

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