GUIDEPOSTS
Turtle Patrol Update:
Week 12
As of Tuesday, August 5 there are 1575 nests in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge on Cape and Lighthouse Islands.
*All activity conducted with loggerhead sea turtles is done under state and federal permits (MTP-563)
It’s been busy in the refuge as the Turtle Patrol has begun to inventory nests that are hatching. On the back end, the guides at Coastal Expeditions have been working hard to keep this program going through special fundraising tours and donations.
Inventorying Nests
It’s been an exciting few weeks on patrol! Hatching season is officially underway, and the technicians, interns and volunteers are hard at work monitoring nests and giving hatchlings a safe start. . Interns Parker and Alexis, along with volunteer James (pictured here), conducted the first nest inventory of the season, where they safely released a live hatchling found during the dig.
Inventoried nests are dug up 3 days or more after they were marked for initial hatching. During this time egg success is measured by identifying good and bad eggs and releasing any live turtles that may still be in the nest.
Fundraising Trips
We ran two trips to Bulls Island (Beach Drop for Sea Turtles and Sunrise for Sea Turtles), donating 100% of the tickets to pay the seasonal salaries of wildlife technicians and volunteers who keep the program going. Between the two days, nearly 200 people came out to Bulls Island and we raised nearly $15,000!
On the Beach Drop, kids were able to participate in a demonstration nest, helping the summer interns count eggs (ping pong balls!) and move them to a safer location, letting them see what it is like to work on the Sea Turtle Patrol. (Our turtle, “Sandy”, is a fiberglass model, by the way!)
It takes about $40,000/year to keep this program going! If you’d like to be a part of this boots-in-the-sand conservation movement, we’d appreciate your donation in any amount.
You can make a tax-deductible donation here:
The Legacy of Sally Murphy
As we celebrate 45 years of sea turtle nest monitoring in South Carolina, it’s impossible not to reflect on the extraordinary legacy of Sally Murphy. Her memoir, Turning the Tide, tells the story of a woman who quite literally changed the future for sea turtles—not just in our state, but along the entire southeastern coast. From pioneering the use of TED (turtle excluder devices) on shrimp boats to initiating the first nest monitoring programs on our beaches, Sally’s work laid the foundation for everything we do today. Without her relentless advocacy, scientific rigor, and deep love for these ancient mariners, we would not have the thriving volunteer patrols, the protective legislation, or the conservation momentum that defines this program’s 45-year milestone.
Personal note: I loved this book because Sally truly is a pioneer not just for sea turtles, but for women. I was fascinated by her stories of camping on barrier islands and flying planes down the shoreline, working to figure out how and when sea turtles nested. -Kari Crolley
