Franklin County Commissioners this week approved updates to
the county’s 17 year old sea turtle lighting law.
It’s the first time the rule has been changed since it was
created in1998.
The rule was designed to protect nesting sea turtles and
their hatchlings from house lights on or near the beach on St. George Island , Dog Island
Lights in those areas are most easily seen from the beach, and can be
deadly to sea turtles, which follow the man-made lights away from the Gulf of
Mexico, to areas where the turtles die from exposure to the Sun or from being
eaten by predators.
When the rule was enacted, Franklin County was the first
county in Florida to adopt the turtle protections; since then every coastal
county in the state but two have followed suit – many basing their rules on
Franklin County’s.
The changes approved this week include a broader definition of turtle
compliant lighting to take into account newer lighting technologies like LED
bulbs.
The rule now bases approved lighting on the wavelength of the light
emitted as opposed to having a list of approved lights.
The changes also include increased tinting requirements for windows
facing the beach so less light hits the beach where turtles nest and requires
homeowners to remove decorative seasonal lighting during turtle nesting season.
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