Minnesota sister duo’s TurtlTracker App set to debut in July

It’s summer, and here in Minnesota that means turtle movement season. Turtles are famously not the speediest of critters. Unfortunately to travel to nesting grounds or other habitat, they often need to cross roads where they are vulnerable to vehicle collisions.

So, sisters Katie O’Halloran and Kelly Olson designed an App to protect them. The sisters hail from the suburbs of Minneapolis, and the App was born from Olson seeing too many turtles in her own neighborhood being run over, or narrowly, avoided by vehicles. 

The App, currently in beta testing, will allow users to track turtles they see on the road. You can take photos, earn badges, and mark turtles as safe when you see them near the road. The App creators hope to crowdsource data about turtle movements, and inform more sustained means of helping turtles cross our roads safely. 

Environment Minnesota is calling for more wildlife crossings for turtles and other critters to reconnect habitat and save lives. With tools like TurtlTracker, we can create a future where our expanding infrastructure in Minnesota does not impede on wildlife populations, including turtles.