Box Turtles And Streams

When I was a child, in the 1950s, I lived in rural Pennsylvania on 100 acres of woods, vines, streams, springs, rocks, ferns, moss, wildflowers, ponds, pastures, fields and hills; there were pheasants and a variety of other birds including owls; small mammals; lightening bugs, ladybugs and beetles; frogs and several kinds of snakes including copperheads. My favorite creature was the box turtle: it appeared every summer and I would examine its unique shell and wait for it to feel secure enough to poke its head out. Today, due to loss of habitat and their exploitation as "pets," the box turtle is categorized "of special concern" as a species in Pennsylvania. At the center of my play in the woods was the stream near our house that flowed down from the wooded hills: I remember the water as sparkling clear and cold. The stream figured in the stories I made up to go with the topography -- adventures and other tales -- and also as refreshment. The water tasted delicious and I scooped it up in my hands whenever I was thirsty. I can't imagine doing that today, after decades of increasingly toxic chemicals in the air and soil. But recently, the local Land Conservancy bought 135 acres to protect the headwaters of one of the important creeks there, with support from the EPA (in partnership with American Rivers) and Adams Country Green Space Program. It's hard to imagine restoring all of the habitat and clean water lost to development and pollution, but education and action through environmental groups seem to be the best hope.