IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association
Lots of people in Boca Grande love to walk the beach in the morning. Most of them do not make the trek if the weather is nasty, or if the sun gets too hot. There are some folks, however, who do not do their beach walking for exercise or meditation. They do it to protect the marine environment and the creatures that live in and around the Gulf. These are people known as the Turtle Patrol.
Sea turtles are a key part of marine ecosystems throughout the world, but all species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered. Gasparilla Island has two species of sea turtles, the loggerhead and the green sea turtle. Each barrier island or coastal area where sea turtles nest is encouraged to have an organization to assist in the protection of their turtles.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission oversees this system of federal, state and local protectors. The FWC issues a permit to the local organization that is willing to find volunteers to help in this work. Without the permit, contact with the turtles or their nests is a felony, so serious training and education is required for, and made available to, anyone who wishes to become involved.
For Gasparilla Island, the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association has one member who is the island’s permit holder. That is Denise Juergens, who is on the Association’s board, heads up efforts regarding education and outreach, and is a Turtle Patrol volunteer. That permit covers the entire island, including both Lee and Charlotte counties. The only exception to her permit is the State Park, which has its own permit, and does its own record-keeping.
There is an annual permit holders meeting, during which the permit holders from all over the state come together for new training, new information, reports, etc. Denise will be attendingthat meeting in the next two weeks.
The front line workers for Gasparilla Island’s turtles is the Turtle Patrol. Today there are 24 active volunteers trained to do the work of the Patrol. That work goes on from May through October each year, and entails identifying sea turtle nests and tracking the nesting activities of loggerhead and green turtles. Each volunteer, or group of volunteers, is assigned a section of the beach, called a zone, which they walk every morning during the turtle season. They are out on the beach regardless of what the weather conditions may be.
When they see the telltale flipper tracks of a turtle, they determine whether she has made a “false crawl” or left a viable nest, which she has filled with eggs. A false crawl is what it is called if a turtle comes up onto the beach without dropping eggs. If there are eggs, the volunteer marks the nest and protects it with wooden stakes and colorful tape. The volunteer then records key data and continues monitoring it until the eggs hatch, which takes about 55 to 60 days. Then the real work begins.
After 75 days – giving all the eggs time to hatch and the little turtles time to make their way to the water – Patrol members excavate each nest and count each shell to determine how many turtles hatched and made it out of the nest. They transmit the data to the FWC and it becomes part of a national database tracking the health and activities of the species.
Ched (Charles Edward) McConnell, who resides at the Boca Grande Club, is president and treasurer of the Association. He and his late wife, Maureen, were founding members of the Association in 2012. “I have been on a number of boards on the island,” he said, “but I plan to be on this one until they take me out feet first,” he said. That is the type of devotion he feels for these creatures.
Ched took over the presidency from Grace Harvey, who had been president from the Association’s inception. She is moving off the island, so has retired from the board.
“She was involved in protecting turtles for at least the last 25 years,” Ched said. He noted that her email address even included the term “Boca Turtle Mother.”
“Hers was a pretty dedicated commitment,” added Denise. “We have lost a number of long-time board members this year,” Ched said, “so we are hoping to interest more people in serving on the board.” He noted that one of the difficulties recruiting board members is that the busiest time for the Association is exactly the same time many residents move to other parts of the country. Year-round residents are the most sought-after candidates. Ched would like anyone interested in board membership to call him directly at 201-572-7151.
Denise said this timing is an issue for Patrol volunteers, as well as volunteers that might head up projects or head a committee. “We are looking for volunteers at all levels,” she said.
In fact, all 24 of the Patrol volunteers – including Denise – live off the island. They must get up extremely early, carry heavy gear, and work in all kinds of weather. They have to protect themselves against sunburn and fire ants, and do extremely dirty, hard work. They do get to see the sunrise over the Boca seashore and are given bridge passes to get to their assigned study zones, but without dedication and love for the sea creatures, they could and would not persist. “That level of commitment is appreciated, and certainly inspirational.” Denise said.
This is Denise’ first year as the permit holder. She has been a volunteer on the Patrol for seven years. The former permit holder, who held it for the past six years was Donna Larson, but she has relocated, so Denise has taken over.
“We are in a transition period,” she said. “One of our goals is to do more community outreach. A program she hopes to reinvigorate is called Junior Rangers, which is aimed at getting young people involved in the work of protecting the turtles. It will include informative talks and walks. “Such educational efforts are near and dear to my heart,” she said. “It can help our young people not only become aware of the plight of the turtles, but also how they impact all our marine life, the health of the water, as well as the health of the beaches.”
In addition to having young people more involved, the Association hopes to find ways to express its gratitude to the people of the island for their support. This includes financial support, but also assistance in other areas. For instance, Denise noted that many residents open their property to Patrol members so they can reach the beach without having to walk from public access points.
She explained that the island is divided into eight zones, each one about a mile in area. Many of these zones are accessible only through private property, so permission must be obtained to use that access, or the volunteer would have to find a public acces point.
‘We could not do what we do without the support of this community,” she said. “I cannot stress that enough – how grateful we are for that support. We feel we are blessed by the community support we receive.”
