By Lindsey Rowland
news@wbcowqel.com
Logan Masters has hands covered in Band-Aids, but still sports all of his fingers, which is a marvel considering the fact that his passion is snapping turtles. Masters is the newest naturalist to join the staff at Lowe-Volk Park, and on Wednesday, he stood at the helm of an evening focused on his favorite research subject.
Masters has previously served as a naturalist on Kelley’s Island and, while there, enjoyed working with a snapping turtle enclosure. When he was hired on to bring his enthusiasm to the Crawford Park District, his first thought was to work to bring the same sort of snapping turtle enclosure to Lowe-Volk Park. And on Wednesday, that endeavor was celebrated at the grand opening.
According to park director Bill Fisher, around 80 people, from infants to a couple in their 90’s, came out to celebrate and to learn. The journey began outside of the Nature Center, where a number of different types of turtles in tanks could be held and fed. All of the species were native to Ohio and could be found in and around the park itself. This station was a particular hit with the kids who were in attendance, with the interaction being met with smiles, laughter, and a whole lot of curiosity.
From there, the group went into the forest to release some previously caught snapper turtles back into the river, and then headed on to the wetlands to check the snapping turtle traps that had been set up there.
Luck was on their side, as there were three new turtles caught to examine together.
“People went crazy when I brought out those snapping turtles – when I pulled them out of the water back there. They just absolutely loved it. We had a ton of fun and an absolute blast,” Masters said.
Masters talked a bit about his process in discerning the age of the turtles, as well as the heart behind catching them being research. Masters works hard to study the snapping turtles, notching their shells, taking their measurements, and monitoring them in the habitat that Ohio provides for them.
Finally, the evening rounded out in the grand finale: the long-desired snapping turtle enclosure. Housed within the large kennel-style cage were two 30-pound snapping turtles caught at a community pond and brought to the park for research and observation. Masters had no reservations about stepping into the enclosure and demonstrating to the enraptured and amused audience how snapping turtles can swallow their food – whole-fish that he offered on the end of a stick.
The crowd, after Masters had sincerely thanked them, disbursed in the exact air that a program like this leaves behind: full of cheerfulness, energy, and enough questions to motivate and inspire for the future.
Masters shares the same passion for snapping turtles with his grandpa and father, in sharing some of his thoughts on the day, said, “I’ve had a lot of people that have come up to me in the past, who have seen these snapping turtles and didn’t even know they were around here. They’re very smart animals, they’re the closest thing we have around here to dinosaurs, so they know how to survive. That’s one of the reasons why I love this so much.”
He also explained that the staff at Lowe-Volk welcomed him and wanted him to pursue and achieve his vision.
“And today was absolutely great.”
The snapping turtle enclosure is located behind the nature center and is always open for viewing. For more information, contact the Crawford Park District.