VALENTINE, Nebraska – Why did the turtle cross the road? To get to the other side … of course.

“Most aquatic turtles leave lakes and wetlands to lay their eggs,” said Juancarlos Giese, manager of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge.

In some areas of the Sandhills, however, you don't see many turtles crawling across the highway.

“This is our turtle fence at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge,” Giese said, pointing to a fence along Highway 83.

The sanctuary has four different fences that prevent turtles from entering the highway.

“They lead them to a culvert so they can go under the highway,” Giese said. “The turtle fences were put up in the early 2000s because there was concern about the mortality of Blanding's turtles.”

Blanding's turtles are considered endangered in many states. The Sandhills of Nebraska are one of their last strongholds.

“The Blanding’s turtle is special to a lot of people because it gets into trouble in so many places,” said Mark Lindvall.

Lindvall is a volunteer with the Sandhills Prairie Refuge Association. The group repairs damaged sections of the fence.

Unfortunately, Lindvall points out that one turtle not only managed to overcome the fence but also lost its eggs.

“The turtle crawled through this hole and built a nest here. Sometimes you find the eggshells, but then a raccoon came by and ate the eggs,” Lindvall said.

Since the Blandings do not reproduce until they are about 20 years old, this is a great loss.

However, thanks to these volunteers, many others were saved.

“It's a very busy road. Researchers found that Blanding's turtle mortality dropped by 66 percent after the fences were installed,” Giese said.

The fences not only protect the turtles, but also drivers who may have to swerve to avoid running over the animals.

“If someone hits a turtle, the shell can even bounce into oncoming traffic. This is also known to cause accidents,” said Giese.