Monday, April 8th Nesting season is about three weeks away

 Hi All - I would like to thank all of our volunteers who have submitted their 2024 application.  At this time, I am only missing one or two applications.  Please submit ASAP, deadline is Wednesday, April 10th.

Many of our veteran volunteers are returning, and we have about a dozen new volunteers.  Welcome to all!  Several of our veteran volunteers will be in training for being LOA/Leads.

As a memory refresh, we had 11 nests and 16 False Crawls last year,  From reviewing our nesting history we should have a busier year.  Cross your fingers, we are about 3 weeks out before our season starts.  Looking forward to seeing the Waties Island sunrise.

Monday, March 25th Example of the erosion on Waties Island

Hi all - I borrowed this Facebook post, with permission, and thought that many of you would be interested, especially our veteran members who have walked the short end of the island.  Some of you know that I belong to a kayak club, J & L Kayaking.  Justin Summerall, part owner and guide posted this information.  

I have both walked and paddled to the island, and have seen this erosion first hand.  Just think how much sand has been moved by the force of the ocean waves and water.  Just AWESOME and so powerful.

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THEN & NOW: Waties Island
This satellite image was taken about 4 years ago. The red line is a GPS overlay of our paddle trail on today's morning island trip (3/18/24). Look how much erosion has happened on the corner of Waties Island in only approximately 4 years. As you can see we would have been paddling dry ground.

Saturday, March 23rd 2024 Nesting Season Starts May 1st

Yeah! The 2024 sea turtle nesting season starts in a little over five weeks.   The email and the Waties Island Sea Turtle Monitoring Program Volunteer Application have been sent out to our 2023 Volunteers and to those who had expressed an interest in joining.  Many thanks to those who have already submitted their paperwork. 

For those who are interested, you may want to take a look at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) South Carolina Marine Turtle Conservation Program website - https://dnr.sc.gov/seaturtle/index.htm   Lots and lots of information can be found on their website, such as:

   - "Loggerheadlines" a yearly publication - listed under the "Publication" label

       https://dnr.sc.gov/seaturtle/lhl.htm

   - Another excellent place to check out is under the "Volunteer" label 

       https://dnr.sc.gov/seaturtle/volres  under the "Volunteer"label, is the Volunteer Resources                         information

Every nesting season volunteers are strongly encouraged each year to record their time which assists the SCDNR Marine Turtle Conservation Program with their funding.

Looking forward to seeing our volunteers soon!