Sea Turtle Info

[30A Skunkape]

I heard on the Florida News on NPR this morning that 2 Kemp's Ridley nests were discovered over the weekend in Walton County. This is great news!

Here is a great fact sheet on this species, and there are numerous valuable links on sea turtles:http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/kempsridley.htm

Remember:remove your crap from the beach and fill in your sand holes.

 

[aggieb]

wonderful news.

i believe that's the same type turtle i saw swimming around in st. joe bay, this time last year.

 

[scooterbug44]

Turtles are so cute!

There has to be some way we can use Endangered Species to trump the lawyers stalling the removal of crap from the beach!

 

[IRIETYMES]

PLease tell us what we can do as part-time residents to get some law passed prohibiting leaving holes in the beach and crap on the beaches after dark....we are dismayed at the seemingly disinterest by the public in any of this. When we chide people about allowing their mchildren on the dunes or filling in the holes (some created by adults, too), or picking up their stuff for the night such as those canopies, we are usually in a confrontation. The close-by life guards are less than helpful, too. What can we do?

 

[30A Skunkape]

PLease tell us what we can do as part-time residents to get some law passed prohibiting leaving holes in the beach and crap on the beaches after dark....we are dismayed at the seemingly disinterest by the public in any of this. When we chide people about allowing their mchildren on the dunes or filling in the holes (some created by adults, too), or picking up their stuff for the night such as those canopies, we are usually in a confrontation. The close-by life guards are less than helpful, too. What can we do?

I don't know if any law will prevent the behavior as it would be difficult to enforce. I think an effective two pronged approach would be tourist education and locals recognizing the fact that we need to defend the beach to some degree. Perhaps money could be raised to print a simple educational card that outlines the problems giant holes can lead to (for man and beast!) and why stuff should be removed from the beach at dark and have these placed in rentals. And those of us who call this place home just need to buck up and point out bad behavior as it happens-last year I ran some kids off a dune (in the process of renourishment) who were grabbing clumps of sea oats as hand holds while their parents blissfully sipped on their beverages. We also need to accept that there will always be knuckleheads who leave holes and junk-we just need to fill them in and pick up the crap or it will not get done. Yesterday I filled in a hole that was about three feet in diameter and at the deepest point about two feet;the waterside of the hole had a one foot tall wall of sand and sargassum. The architect's Finding Nemo bucket was still on the scene but otherwise it was abandoned. What was maddening was that this hole was almost directly in front of the location of a turtle nest site from last year!

 

[Smiling JOe]

InletBchOwnr, It would be easier to stop the sale of the large plastic shovels. Before those were sold in our area, we didn't have the multiple craters. I fell in one, yesterday, when I turned my head for two seconds while walking on the beach. Sometimes, the red tape of gov't isn't quick enough, especially when they have a new population of people to control every week. Personally, I don't want to see the gov't making laws about things such as digging holes, but I'd rather see them spend the money on educating our visitors on how to be good tourists, respectful of the sensitive environment.

 

[John R]

The close-by life guards are less than helpful, too. What can we do?

the lifeguards should be the first line of defense on this. they're already there and could educate those on their beach, and issue tags.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I'm not sure that lifeguards on the beach late enough in the day to tag the items, and I am pretty certain that they do not have the authority to issue the tags. I believe as the current laws are set up, only Code Enforcement or Sheriff's Dpt have that authority.

 

[rapunzel]

I was very disappointed to see a locally owned store selling those big shovels. I know the idea has been floated before, but maybe we should start a letter writing campaign, or some other action to ask local beach toy retailers to not stock these shovels.

How about we all sign this and then distribute it to the retailers?
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/beachshovels/

 

[kathydwells]

I was very disappointed to see a locally owned store selling those big shovels. I know the idea has been floated before, but maybe we should start a letter writing campaign, or some other action to ask local beach toy retailers to not stock these shovels.

How about we all sign this and then distribute it to the retailers?
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/beachshovels/

I signed it. Please everyone go and sign this petition!! Thank you Punzy for the link!!!