Bog turtles weigh 1 pound, grow no longer than a pencil and spend much of their lives hidden in the mud feeding on slugs, seeds and young rodents.
But in the battle between development and nature, the relatively unknown reptiles are heavyweights.
Since it was declared a threatened species in 1997, the bog turtle has held up construction of bypasses, highways, a dam and retail complexes on the East Coast.
In Maryland, 18 turtles found in wetlands near Hampstead in Carroll County will delay a proposed $35 million bypass that has been in the works since the 1960s.
Some Carroll politicians and residents question whether the turtles should hold up a road that would benefit 16,000 drivers each day.
"You can't stop progress for a turtle. It takes 30 to 40 minutes to get through town," said Brenda Thorn, owner of Queen's Collectibles, an antiques and wooden furniture shop on Main Street in Hampstead. "I can't see what function they have in our society. We don't eat them."
That could change. Residents have grumbled that one solution to the bog turtle problem might be an order of soup. Others have quietly hoped that someone will sell the rare turtles on the black market, where they have fetched up to $2,000 apiece.
"It's ridiculous. I think people need to speak up and say enough is enough," said Commissioner Julia Walsh Gouge, a former mayor of Hampstead. "I think environmentalists are putting human beings and safety behind the bog turtles."
For many years, the reverse was true. Rapid development, the draining of wetlands and pesticides have steadily destroyed the turtles' muddy habitat. Surveys indicate that their numbers have declined about 40 percent since the early 1980s.
It is estimated that fewer than 10,000 of the turtles remain in the 12 states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Maryland is home to a third of them. The turtle, which has a brown or black shell and bright orange markings on its head, can be found in Carroll, Cecil, Baltimore and Harford counties.
If accommodations are not made for the turtle in Carroll County, one of the world's richest bog turtle habitats could be destroyed, researchers say.
Hampstead emerged in the late 18th century as a convenient stop for oxen and mules pulling loads from Baltimore to Pennsylvania.
Early residents dubbed the center of town "the great swamp" because of the marsh that occupied most of the land. They navigated through town on planks above the mud, which was an ideal habitat for bog turtles.
