Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing and its important to protect the nesting mothers as dig their nests on local beaches at night

Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing and its important to protect the nesting mothers as dig their nests on local beaches at night.

Sea turtles nest on beaches across Franklin and Gulf counties including St. George Island, St. Vincent Island, Alligator Point and Cape San Blas.

The vast majority of the nests found in our area are from Loggerhead turtles, though very rarely there are also nests from the more endangered leatherback turtles.

The nests look like piles of sand, and they are most easily recognized by the turtle crawl marks that are left when the female turtle pulls herself from the Gulf of Mexico to the dune line where most turtle nests are found.

If you should be lucky enough to see a nesting turtle, just remember to leave the turtle alone and turn off any lights you might have.

Never use a flash to take a picture of the turtles and don't point flashlights at her.

If she is disturbed, she may abandon her nest and return to the sea.

And remember Franklin County is actively enforcing its “Leave No Trace” ordinance to protect nesting sea turtles and to keep local beaches looking cleaner.

The ordinance bans people from leaving items like tents and beach chairs on public beaches on St. George Island overnight; items that are left out can be confiscated by the county and destroyed at the landfill.

If you should find an unmarked turtle nest this Summer, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC and they will make sure someone comes out to check and protect the nest.

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