Sea turtle nesting season is just around the Friends of the Carr Refuge are hosting a "March into Turtle Season" fundraising event. The goal is to help raise awareness about the importance of continued sea turtle monitoring and to raise funds to support sea turtle tagging.
The University of Central Florida’s Marine Turtle Research Group (UCF MTRG) has been conducting nighttime sea turtle nesting surveys for decades along the Brevard County portion of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (ACNWR). The Refuge currently supports close to one in four loggerhead nests and one in three green sea turtle nests in the state of Florida during any given nesting season. As such, this nesting beach and data generated by the UCF MTRG provide a snapshot of the Atlantic loggerhead and green turtle populations and reproductive rates, most notably their trends and demographics. Data from this project support statewide index nesting programs as well as federal sea turtle stock assessments.
In order to continue this data collection, more passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are needed for monitoring the Refuge's loggerhead, green and leatherback sea turtles. PIT tags are similar to microchips used for domestic pets and cost around $6.50 - $7.50 each and UCF MTRG is limited on the number of turtles they can tag based on their PIT tag inventory.
That's where we come in. The goal of the evening is to help fund the purchase of more PIT tags so UCF MTRG can monitor more turtles which will lead to more informed conservation strategies and better outcomes for our turtle populations.
However, in addition to being a fundraiser, the event is our way of honoring our members and donors who continue to support research on the Refuge. The Friends of the Carr Refuge encourages non-members to register for the event and just by making a donation they will automatically become a member!
Heavy hor d'oeurves and a selection of beer and wine will be served. We will also be hosting a silent auction with many items to bid on. Registration is required.
Vero Vine |