Franklin County working to make beaches more sea turtle friendly

            Franklin county commissioners are continuing its work to amend the counties sea turtle ordinance to make local beaches more turtle friendly.

The county sea turtle ordinance currently deals only with exterior lights that can disorient nesting turtles and hatchlings, but the county is now adding language to the rule that would require people to remove beach equipment from the beaches at night.

Commissioners said they have seen a growing problem of people leaving their belongings on the beaches overnight.

That includes chairs and tents and other items that become obstacles to sea turtles that have to crawl around the items to reach the dune line where they tend to lay their eggs.

County attorney Michael Shuler said he is also adding language to the rule that would require beachgoers to fill in any deep holes they dig on the beach before they leave at night.

The rule is still in draft form and will have to be considered and approved by the county commission before taking effect so other changes could be added.

The county says once it does approve the rule they would initially provide a warning to people who break the rule, but over time the county would confiscate items left on the beach and either take them to the landfill or donate them to local churches.

The county is also asking home rental companies and vendors who rent beach equipment that they try to educate their customers about the impacts of leaving items on the beach overnight.

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