Two if by sea: turtles return to Eglin shores

  • Published
  • By Mike Spaits
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  They may not rival Paul Revere's midnight ride through New England, but a team of volunteers here at Eglin have a message for area beachgoers - "The turtles are coming! The turtles are coming!" Actually, they're already here. 

Eglin's beaches host swarms of visitors every summer, but the endangered sea turtles don't come here for the beautiful views - they come specifically to give birth to thousands of baby sea turtles. 

To date, 15 nests have been found on Eglin from Navarre to Destin since May 1, and Eglin's wildlife managers expect more to come before the nesting season ends in August. 

"On average, we'll get approximately 24 nests per year," said Erica Laine, Jackson Guard's Volunteer Program manager. "So far, this year has been fairly average, and we should see a good bit more through the summer." 

Being a threatened species on a federal installation means Eglin is required by law to protect the turtles and more than 40 volunteers help manage and document the annual rite. 

According to Ms. Laine, the volunteers put in well over 1,600 man-hours during nesting season documenting and marking every nest on Eglin's 17 miles of beaches. 

"I really wanted to participate in a program that helps endangered species," said Marv Skillen, a Sea Turtle Monitoring Program volunteer since 2002. 

The retired Air Force officer said his extensive travel helped him develop a love of nature and wildlife and helps motivate him to rise before the sun to drive Eglin's coastline in search of evidence of amphibious visitors from the Gulf of Mexico.

"I find helping the sea turtles to be very rewarding. I really enjoy the sunrises and all the different coastal wildlife and the landscape," said Mr. Skillen. 

While most of the excitement the volunteers encounter out on Santa Rosa Island come from discovering newly dug nests, one of Mr. Skillen's most memorable moments came in 2004 from helping a disoriented mother loggerhead turtle find her way back to the Gulf. 

"Normally the mother turtle heads back to the water after laying the eggs," said Mr. Skillen.  "This one headed north towards the sound. I followed her tracks for a few hundred yards and could not get her to go to the water. She weighed between 200 to 300 lbs. I called Jackson Guard and it took four men to help carry her to the Gulf and released her." 

Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles that are very well-adapted to life in the ocean. A streamlined shape, large size and powerful fore flippers enable them to dive to great depths and travel long distances. Although at home on the ocean, sea turtles are tied to the land because females must leave the water to lay their eggs in a sandy beach. 

It is believed that sea turtles return to the beaches they were born to lay their eggs.  Nesting typically occurs every two to three years. A female may lay as a many as three to five nests within a nesting season at about 13-day intervals. Most sea turtles lay anywhere from 80-140 eggs per nest. The best scientific estimates available indicate that only one in 1,000 hatchlings will survive (anywhere from 20-50 years) to become an adult sea turtle. 

All of this year's nests have been loggerhead sea turtles and they are the most common species found on Eglin's beaches, however, of the six sea turtle species found in U.S. waters, four lay their eggs on Eglin beaches - the loggerhead, green, Kemp's ridley, and leatherback sea turtles. All are designated as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, except for the loggerhead, which is listed as threatened. 

Endangered status means a species is considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range; threatened means it is likely to become endangered.
For more information on Jackson Guard's volunteer program, contact Erica Laine at 883-1177.