Just about everyone has a soft spot for sea turtles. The elusive, enigmatic creatures capture the imagination – and they’re in trouble.
That’s why a special group of citizens, scientists and government representatives have banded together, to educate the public, raise awareness that turtles truly dig the dark, and otherwise help them to thrive.
And, for all their hard work over the years, the Sea Turtle Friendly Beaches Working Group has been recognized.
The group’s St. Lucie County Sea Turtle Lighting and Nest Protection Initiative earned the Education and Outreach Award presented by the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals.
“It came as a complete surprise,” said co-chair Ken Gioeli, UF/IFAS Extension St. Lucie County Natural Resources Extension Agent. He said the working group didn’t even know it had been nominated until he received an email saying they were named the winner. “It was a huge honor.”
For years, Gioeli has worked with representatives from numerous agencies to spread the word ahead of turtle nesting season that lights need to be shielded, and unseen from beaches. They also inform property owners of potential hazards and obstacles – such as their beach furniture and the like – can pose to nesting turtles.
“They’re work is just fantastic,” said Jennifer Báez, 2017 president of the Treasure Coast Chapter of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals. TCC-FAEP is a multidisciplinary professional association of environmental professionals from a variety of disciplines including biologists, scientists, geologists, environmental engineers, environmental attorneys, wetland scientists, botanists, planners and many other disciplines that perform environmental work.
Nominations for the award, she said, come through the professional community and the board of directors vet each one.
“We felt they deserved this,” Baez said, explaining that the group’s ability to sustain its work year after year and get such buy-in from stakeholders – property owners, business owners and others – put the St. Lucie County team over the top.
“They definitely took the cake,” Baez said.
Though she had not heard of the Sea Turtle Friendly Beaches Working Group before, other members of the environmental professionals organization had, according to Baez.
The St. Lucie County Sea Turtle Friendly Beaches Working Group is a collaboration between various St. Lucie County agencies such as the UF/IFAS Extension, Environmental Resources Department, Communications Division, Erosion Control District, St. Lucie County and the City of Fort Pierce Code Compliance, the Manatee Observation and Education Center, Ecological Associates and the Florida Master Naturalists of St. Lucie County.
“I’m just so proud to be part of that team,” said Monica Graziani, St. Lucie County Building and Code Regulation manager. “Every year we find new challenges” and each time they find a way to overcome.
Graziani said that the working group’s purpose is to educate – not penalize – property owners, to make them aware of how their properties are not in compliance with rules pertaining to sea turtle nesting.
She said that – almost always – as soon as a property owner is made aware he or she is not in compliance, they fix the issues. “You can’t ask for much more,” Graziani said.
St. Lucie County is home to 21 miles of critical sea turtle nesting beaches. Three species of sea turtles nesting on county beaches are listed as either threatened or endangered. Improper beach-front lighting during nesting season can imperil sea turtles.