05/28/2024
Please help us support ourπ’turtles AND those who protect them!π
Important Info!
We want to make sure everyone understands our role in the conservation and protection of sea turtles that visit our beach. We are the official permit holders from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. We are the only permitted program on Oak Island to care for and protect the sea turtles that visit Oak Island. As permit holders, we follow all of the guidelines, rules, and recommendations from the NCWRC and our state coordinator. We do not share locations of our nests per the NCWRC but we do tell everyone when you see a runway headed to the water, that nest is in the time frame for emergence. Everyone is welcome to come and sit with us but please remember we can never predict a day or time the emergence will take place, nature decides. We do not publicize inventory times but if you ask the volunteers at the nest you are interested in, they will share information on that particular nest with you. We do hope to have several public excavations this season but it will depend on if we receive permission from the NCWRC, and if we have nests that are in areas where there is sufficient parking and times when it is convenient for us to collaborate with our awesome OKI Police Department to help us. We will share that information on our page. You can always check on our nests by visiting our website okiseaturtle.org or visit seaturtle.org. All volunteers at our nests should be kind and courteous and excited to educate you!
We would like to remind everyone that no one is entitled to see the turtles that visit Oak Island. They are not a tourist attraction. Sea turtles are a threatened or endangered species listed on The Endangered Species List and as such, they should be treated with respect, as all of our marine and wildlife should be treated. It is a federal offense to disturb, harass, remove or harm any sea turtles or their nest areas. We hope you are lucky and have the opportunity to see a nesting turtle or the emergence of hatchlings, and if you do, we hope you will be respectful. Please call us 24/7 at 910.945.8888. We will not ask you to leave but we do want to be able to get some great data for biologists and researchers and we want to make sure the sea turtles are safe. We appreciate everyone who contacts us!
Our passion for sea turtles and the survival of their species is what our program is all about. If you truly care for any animal species we think you would agree with us, that doing what is right for them, and not what we as humans want or think we are entitled to, is always the correct way. Come and visit us at a nest or at our presentations/turtle talks and learn more about our program and sea turtles! We thank all of the volunteers in our program and all beach programs around the world! Your time, effort, and dedication is so appreciated! We also want to thank our state coordinator, state biologist, and community science specialist for their support, training, and help. If you have any questions on the letter attached, please contact Dr. Matthew Godfrey or the NCWRC.
We hope to see you on the beach!
β₯οΈπ’β₯οΈπ’β₯οΈ
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Oak Island is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 24ST01).**
