Divine Intervention?
Kemp's ridley nests on Volusia County beach
by David Godfrey
For over a year now, two turtle activists have been pursuing a federal
lawsuit against Volusia County, Florida, on the grounds that it is violating
the Endangered Species Act by allowing automobiles to drive on the beach
and kill sea turtles. In response to the lawsuit, the county is attempting
to obtain an "incidental take permit" from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS), which would permit the continuation of well-regulated
driving on some sections of beach in exchange for implementation of a Habitat
Conservation Plan for sea turtles. CCC's Sea Turtle Survival League has
carefully reviewed the proposed plan and submitted written comments to
the USFWS. If approved, the plan would include the removal of cars from
significant sections of beach.
A stretch of beach near the Town of Ponce Inlet is one such section
proposed to be closed to cars. Announcement of the pending closure brought
severe opposition from local officials and residents of Ponce Inlet. Officials
even threatened a counter lawsuit their position being that the Ponce Inlet
beach is no more attractive to turtles than other beaches in the county
that would remain open to cars.
In the midst of this debate, on May 14, 1996 a female Kemp's ridley
chose Ponce Inlet as the location to deposit the first documented ridley
nest on the east coast of Florida. As Kemp's ridleys are noted for doing,
this mother-to-be crawled ashore in broad daylight, amidst the cars and
tourists, to deposit her 108 eggs. Turtle volunteers and the Volusia County
Sea Turtle Coordinator were called to the scene to document the nesting
and photograph the turtle.
The irony reached mystical proportions when, seventeen days later, the
same Kemp's ridley crawled out of the sea and nested right behind the beachfront
home of Shirley Reynolds, one of the activists waging the lawsuit against
Volusia County. Again, turtle volunteers were on the scene to document
the nesting.
The timing and location of these nestings were so mysterious that many
people have jokingly suggested the turtle was first pointing out to Ponce
Inlet officials that their beach is indeed an important nesting site and
then thanking Reynolds for her commitment to ending beach driving. On a
final note, the USFWS is still reviewing Volusia County's proposed Habitat
Conservation Plan, and a final decision is expected shortly.
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