During the early spring, as snow melts and ice dissipates, the first sunny days with temperatures in at least the mid 40s are likely to draw the early risers out of their stream bottom winter refugia. During the next few weeks or so, the turtles stick close to the river, sneaking back into the water most nights to avoid predators and freezing temperatures. This is mud season, plain and simple, and mud season means elevated stream flows, muddy banks, cold temperatures, and frequent rains, which deters people from enjoying stream bank habitat recreationally. Once the weather warms and people start to venture outside to enjoy the nice weather, the turtles scatter and finding one becomes a proverbial ‘needle in a hay stack’ scenario.Simply put, the people and turtles aren’t often in the same spot at the same time. In the fall the turtles gather at the streams again, but dense ground vegetation makes locating the turtles twice as hard.