Turtle News
We have Nest 2!
6:29 AM is apparently the magic moment! Both 2020 nests were reported at exactly 6:29 AM. Today, Tory Kindley reported a crawl about 150 yards north of Boardwalk 3. Judy Morr probed and we now have Nest 2, which was left in-situ. The rest of the beach was clear, as Walkers enjoyed the chilly but beautiful morning.
We have Nest 1! Veronica L’Allier called at 6:29 with a crawl just south of Boardwalk 6 . Bill and Linda Nelson responded and found the eggs. The nest was left “in situ”.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has given us approval to begin Turtle Patrol activities. .The Patrol will start on Monday, May 4th. Due to the current public health emergency, these activities will be conducted following extremely stringent DNR guidelines.
The guidelines limit the number of Patrol participants and include strict social distancing and hygiene protocols. They also prohibit all public involvement of any kind. We appreciate everyone giving the Patrol Members on the beach plenty of space to do their job safely.
The Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol members are very excited to get started and protect the sea turtles that visit our beaches.
The Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has been advised by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) that all Turtle Patrol activities will be placed on hold indefinitely due to the current health crisis. This includes strandings of dead or injured sea turtles as well as all activities related to nest identification and protection. The Turtle Patrol is licensed by and operates under the direction of the SCDNR.
Obviously, we are very disappointed by this news. Hopefully, they’ll be able to lift the restriction sometime in the next few months and we’ll be able to resume our activities. In the meantime, the turtles will continue their natural process oblivious to our challenges.
We ask that everyone refrain from interacting with the sea turtles or their nests in any manner.
Due to the current health crisis, the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has cancelled the 2020 Kick-Off and New Member Orientation Meetings scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd. The New Member Training on April 18th and the T-Shirt Pick-up Party on April 25th have also been cancelled.
One of the important functions of the Kick-Off Meeting is to order the new Turtle Patrol t-shirts and hats for 2020. This year we plan to accomplish this by submitting the order forms and payments directly. Current Turtle Patrol Members will be sent detailed instructions.
For potential new members, the outline of the New Member Orientation, a summary of volunteer opportunities and a new member sign-up form are available on the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol web site, . The Orientation Outline can be found under Information/Training and the new member sign-up form and a summary of volunteer opportunities can be found under Information/Forms& Resources. If you decide to become a member, please send an email to Gary Fansler at fanslergary@gmail.com to obtain an order form for t-shirts and hats. You can also contact Terry Fansler at terry@carettasway.com with any questions. Please do this as soon as possible as the overall T-shirt/hat order will have to be submitted by April 2nd.
We hope to reschedule the New Member Training when possible. In the meantime, we will use on the job training by scheduling new members with more experienced members.
Stay safe everyone!
Email: hello@ siturtlepatrol.com
