Friday, June 21, 2013
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Adopt-A-Nest!
With thanks to the Tribune & Georgian for this article:
"With another round of 5-percent federal cuts slated for October, Cumberland Island National Seashore staff are looking to the future of the park’s sea turtle monitoring program.
“It’s 18 miles of undeveloped beach,” island wildlife biologist Doug Hoffman said. “We typically account for 25 to 30 percent of the statewide nesting total. It’s arguably the most important nesting beach in Georgia.”
Typically, the island receives two to four interns through Student Conservation Corps who patrol the beach daily between May and October noting false crawls, marking new nests, taking egg samples for a genetics study, moving nests laid too close to the water farther toward the dunes, documenting hatchings that start about late July and later excavating the nests to see how many turtles emerged.
“We have been monitoring the sea turtles on Cumberland since the 1970s,” Hoffman said. The program costs $18,000 annually, Hoffman said, and could be cut come October. “Our division does not have a lot of extra money except for salaries and the sea turtle program,” Hoffman said, noting the department had two employees leave and one retired, which resulted in some savings.
One source of funding for next year is Seaturtle.org’s adopt-a-nest program. The adoption fee is $25, with $10 going to the nonprofit website and $15 to the beach, Hoffman said. People can adopt a nest this season — Cumberland already has 203 — and the money would be held to fund the program in 2014. “There’s just not a big pot of money somewhere that we can draw from,” Hoffman said of financing the program. Each adoption includes a certificate, customized adoption webpage, the adopter’s name on the nesting beach’s webpage and updates on the nest throughout the season.
“Adopting a sea turtle nest is a great way to assist the National Park Service on Cumberland Island to conserve this fragile species,” seashore superintendent Fred Boyles said. “Adopting a nest makes a great gift or a way to help teach kids about stewardship of our ocean resources."
(I just adopted nest 66166
Nest Activity:
Nest was laid on 31 May 2013 by a Loggerhead sea turtle. The nest was protected with a plastic screen.
31 May 2013 - Nest was relocated (154 eggs).
31 May 2013 - 4 Eggs lost because of Ghost Crab).
http://www.seaturtle.org/
"With another round of 5-percent federal cuts slated for October, Cumberland Island National Seashore staff are looking to the future of the park’s sea turtle monitoring program.
“It’s 18 miles of undeveloped beach,” island wildlife biologist Doug Hoffman said. “We typically account for 25 to 30 percent of the statewide nesting total. It’s arguably the most important nesting beach in Georgia.”
Typically, the island receives two to four interns through Student Conservation Corps who patrol the beach daily between May and October noting false crawls, marking new nests, taking egg samples for a genetics study, moving nests laid too close to the water farther toward the dunes, documenting hatchings that start about late July and later excavating the nests to see how many turtles emerged.
“We have been monitoring the sea turtles on Cumberland since the 1970s,” Hoffman said. The program costs $18,000 annually, Hoffman said, and could be cut come October. “Our division does not have a lot of extra money except for salaries and the sea turtle program,” Hoffman said, noting the department had two employees leave and one retired, which resulted in some savings.
One source of funding for next year is Seaturtle.org’s adopt-a-nest program. The adoption fee is $25, with $10 going to the nonprofit website and $15 to the beach, Hoffman said. People can adopt a nest this season — Cumberland already has 203 — and the money would be held to fund the program in 2014. “There’s just not a big pot of money somewhere that we can draw from,” Hoffman said of financing the program. Each adoption includes a certificate, customized adoption webpage, the adopter’s name on the nesting beach’s webpage and updates on the nest throughout the season.
“Adopting a sea turtle nest is a great way to assist the National Park Service on Cumberland Island to conserve this fragile species,” seashore superintendent Fred Boyles said. “Adopting a nest makes a great gift or a way to help teach kids about stewardship of our ocean resources."
(I just adopted nest 66166
Nest Activity:
Nest was laid on 31 May 2013 by a Loggerhead sea turtle. The nest was protected with a plastic screen.
31 May 2013 - Nest was relocated (154 eggs).
31 May 2013 - 4 Eggs lost because of Ghost Crab).
http://www.seaturtle.org/
St. Marys Binational Peace Garden
Our sincere thanks to Pastor Rick Douylliez and the First Presbyterian Youth Group for their wonderful work at the St. Marys Binational Peace Garden! They weeded, mulched, cleaned and made the Garden shine.
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