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The Virgin Islands are
home to many threatened and endangered species, including sea turtles. All
species of turtle are protected on local, federal, and international levels
from human interactions, poaching and habitat destruction. In spite of this
protection, sea turtles are vulnerable to many natural and human induced
threats. In order to protect and conserve the local sea turtles of the
Virgin Islands, numerous local research and conservation programs have been
implemented. Government organizations such as the V.I Department of
Planning and Natural Resources, NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
the National Park Service have partnered with non-government organizations
such as The Nature Conservancy, EARTHWATCH institute and WIMARCS to fund and
support local sea turtle projects.
A common type of sea
turtle project is the nightly monitoring of nesting beaches. These projects
are conducted on beaches such as Buck Island National Park, the East End
beaches, and Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge in St Croix. Nightly
monitoring programs serve to protect the adults, eggs, and hatchlings from
threats such as poaching and predation. Additionally, constant monitoring
provides the opportunity for trained sea turtle biologists to conduct
innovative scientific research, track population trends, and increase our
understanding of these little known species. Beaches are patrolled at
specific intervals and all turtles are identified, tagged, sampled, and
measured. Every activity is recorded, along with information such as time,
location, weather, sand conditions, boat traffic and more. If the eggs are
in danger of loss due to erosion or tidal inundation, they may be collected
and relocated to a safer zone on the beach. Individual research projects
are also conducted by trained biologists to answer questions related to
resource management, biology, reproduction, and behavior. This research is
often published and presented to the scientific and conservation community
on an annual basis. This work requires years of training and education
specific to sea turtles. |
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Most biologists have a
Masters or PhD, and all work with sea turtles requires multiple
permits from local and federal agencies.
Additional local sea
turtle projects include day monitoring, in water work, public education
programs and STAR. Day monitoring projects are important to identify
significant nesting on beaches around and among islands. This type of work
is conducted during the day and serves to identify turtle activity and
species using knowledge of tracks. Day patrols increase our understanding
of habitat use and nesting distribution. In water work may also be
conducted to identify turtles inhabiting local reef and sea grass systems.
Health may be assessed, important foraging habitats may be identified, and
growth rates and turtle movements may be monitored. Public education
programs are also important to increase local understanding and awareness of
these animals and related conservation issues. A popular program run by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is the turtle watch program at Sandy Point.
This program focuses on educating local school children and community groups
regarding endangered leatherback sea turtles. Another important aspect of
sea turtle conservation is the STAR (Sea Turtle Assistance and Rescue)
network. STAR is a group of trained, qualified, and permitted individuals
who respond to and handle emergency situations involving trapped, injured,
dead, disoriented, or stranded turtles on St. Thomas, St. Croix and St.
John.
There are many different
types of sea turtles programs in place locally in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Each type of program is designed to meet a particular need and ultimately
all programs work together to assist with sea turtle protection and
conservation. You can learn more about local sea turtle programs and report
any nesting activities at
www.wimarcs.org. To obtain more information on turtlewatch, call the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 690-9452. To report a sick, injured, or
dead turtle, please call STAR at 1-877-3TURTLE. Please remember this number
is for turtle or marine mammal related emergencies only.
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