Some 70,000 turtle eggs to be whisked far from oil

[Baclava]

Source: AP

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. — An effort to scoop thousands of turtle eggs from their nests to save them from death in the oily Gulf of Mexico will begin in the coming weeks in a desperate attempt to keep an entire generation of threatened species from vanishing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will coordinate the plan, which calls for collecting about 70,000 turtle eggs in up to 800 nests buried in the sand across Florida Panhandle and Alabama beaches.

Then the eggs will be carefully placed in specially designed Styrofoam containers, like coolers, along with sand and moisture to mimic the natural nest. The containers will then be trucked about 500 miles east to a temperature-controlled warehouse at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.

There, the eggs will remain until hatchlings emerge, and they will be placed one-by-one on Florida's east coast, where the turtles can swim oil-free into the Atlantic Ocean


Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPsdH...

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Thataway!

[BrklynLiberal]

1. At least SOMETHING helpful is being done somewhere...

Thanks and Kudos to all that are involved in this life saving task.

[Rhiannon12866]

17. More... :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Oh, GOOD!

We can really mess things up...

But, when we put our minds to it, we can really be creative, and figure out great ways to fix them.

This is good news.

Recommended.

[Baclava]

4. yep - at least some will stand a chance at survival

It's certain death if we do nothing.

[Pavulon]

3. That is massive and I wish them the best.

Go TURTLES!

[metapunditedgy]

5. Maybe "whisked" isn't the best word for it... :-) n/t

[Baclava]

6. If this is an omelette reference - I really don't want to know

I swear - can't have any nice things around here

[EFerrari]

8. I think they do it on purpose!

[Chicago dyke]

18. comment WIN! n/t

[Bluzmann57]

7. Amazing.

Something positive is finally being done for wildlife in the Gulf and there are SIX posts. I guess that tells us all we need to know about DU. Negativity rules! Yeah!
It is a good thing that these eggs are being moved. Yeah, I know the oil gusher should have never happened, but it did and at least someone is trying to do something positive. Kudos to the fish and wildlife service.

[Nihil]

15. Good point (so here's another K & R).

FWIW, this post is now showing as having 30 recs and about a dozen replies.

"Number of times Jesus Christ mentioned homosexuality?" has 104 votes and ~100 replies ...

[wordpix]

20. +1

[Baclava]

21. Yep, the disaster porn rubber neckers are having a hard time here

What can I do?

[eowyn_of_rohan]

9. such good news

[PearliePoo2]

10. right on

I only hope the oil doesn't take a turn in the "loop" and get the east side.

[cascadiance]

11. I'm hoping that BP gets the bill for this!

They need to pay in FULL for their criminal actions!

Kudos to those working on this. Hope this same sort of effort is being worked on for other threatened marine life around there too.

[boppers]

12. Heard about this on NPR...

How are they going to *find* those nests?

[Baclava]

14. They are probably already marked - FL has nesting programs that count and monitor them

The state of Florida, through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, coordinates two sea turtle monitoring programs: the Statewide Nesting Beach Survey and the Index Nesting Beach Survey.

The State of Florida, through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissions Florida Marine Research Institute, coordinates the Florida Nesting Beach Survey program (SNBS). The SNBS was initiated in 1979 under a cooperative agreement between FWC (then DNR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its purpose is to document the total distribution, seasonality, and abundance of nesting by sea turtles in Florida.

Three species of sea turtles, the loggerhead (Caretta caretta), the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), nest regularly on Floridas beaches. All the species are listed as either Threatened or Endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Survey data are derived from observations of tracks and other nesting signs left on the beach by sea turtles. Species identifications and determinations of nesting or non-nesting emergences are based on the evaluation of features of the track and the nest.

Data are gathered through a network of permit holders consisting of private conservation groups, volunteers, consultants, academics, local governments, federal agencies, and the Florida Park Service. Results are used by managers to evaluate and minimize impacts to turtles and their nests due to human activities such as coastal construction, beach renourishment, and recreation, as well as to identify important areas for enhanced protection or land acquisition.

http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=...






Alabama too

http://www.alabamaseaturtles.com/nesting-season-statist...

[No Elephants]

13. If you stay at a hotel on a beach where sea turtles are nesting, the manager will ask you to draw

the drapes at night, so that light does not disturb them. If they cannot tolerate artificial light, imagine what oil in the ocean will do.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Here's wishing success to the sea turtles

[Chicago dyke]

19. this is when i hate being poor and stuck where i am

i would so totally volunteer for a project like this. i could stand it, where i think caring for the oil covered birds etc would make me suicidal.