Fall 2001
The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge authorized by an act of Congress in 1989, is a twenty and one half mile stretch of beach, on the Southeast coast of Florida. This refuge hosts the largest concentration of nesting loggerhead and green sea turtles in the United States. It is the second most important nesting site in the world for loggerhead turtles. The Refuge protects animal species by preserving the coastal habitat on which they depend; and is also a place for public recreation and education. The Refuge, named for the late Dr. Archie Carr, honors his lifetime commitment to conservation and research.Refuge Reports: Turtle Nesting
The number of turtle nests recorded during the 2001 season in the Refuge:The number of loggerhead turtle nests for this past season reflects a decrease of about 18% from the number recorded last year. However, Dr. Ehrhart of the University of Central Florida considers this to be a normal year. The number of Green sea turtle nests reflects the normal variation between high "even" numbered years and low "odd" numbered years. The number of leatherback nesting continues to show an increase. A negative effect on nest hatching success was the tropical storm that passed across Florida in September. Paul Tritaik reports that 21% of the nests in the Southern part of the Refuge were negatively impacted by the storm. We can expect that the northern section of the Refuge was affected in a similar manner.
15,645 -Loggerheads 198 - Green Turtles 47 - Leatherbacks Land Acquisition
The largest remaining available beachfront property in the Refuge was the Aquarina property, totaling 1000 feet in length. The northern most 472 feet of the property has been purchased by a developer. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has purchased the middle 300 feet, and has a contract to purchase the remaining 228 feet to the South.Parks planned in Refuge
The Brevard County Parks and Recreation Department is planning the construction of several parks within the area of the Refuge. Ponce Landing Park will be built in the disturbed beachfront area a short distance to the South of the Driftwood Plaza shopping center. It will be of a similar size and configuration to Coconut Point Park to the North of the shopping center. It will accommodate approximately 60 cars and will contain a kiosk with informational signs about the Refuge. The remaining disturbed areas will be closed off from access and re-vegetated. The South Beach Community Park will be constructed on 40 of the 288 acres that was formerly a citrus grove located to the west of Highway A1A in Floridana Beach. The current plan is for the park to contain two ball fields, a community center and a playground. The remaining 248 acres will be planted with native vegetation and used for passive recreation only. Brevard County is planning to move ahead with the construction of the Barrier Island Ecosystem Center located at the former Chuck's Steak House property. It is expected that it will be available for use in 2003. The Friends of the Carr Refuge plans to locate their office at the center when it becomes available.Turtle Talk: Leatherback Telemetry
During the 2001 nesting season, five leatherback turtles, nesting in the Refuge, were fitted with both satellite and radio transmitters to track their continued movements. The work was done by Dr. Ehrhart and his UCF Turtle Research students, and Scott Eckerd, a research biologist with Hubb's/Sea World in California. The radio transmitters were to alert the researchers when a leatherback was coming ashore to nest again, while the satellite transmitters would track the leatherbacks when they left their nesting area to head for their foraging areas. As was done last year with China Girl, the five new transmitter equipped turtles were given names for easy identification. Surfer Girl was tracked to Nova Scotia; Island Girl to the coast off of Massachusetts; Material Girl went to an area south of Bermuda and then headed across the Atlantic; Uptown Girl crossed the Atlantic to the African coast; and Brown Eyed Girl stayed in the immediate vicinity of the Florida /Georgia coast. In addition, a leatherback turtle from French Guyana in South America was tracked to the Florida coast. This research has identified areas where leatherback sea turtles feed on their primary diet of jellyfish. Based on data from tracking these turtles, as well as from China Girl who was tracked last year, scientists have identified four major foraging areas for Atlantic leatherback sea turtles; the waters off the Chesapeake Bay, Nova Scotia, Florida/Georgia and North Africa.Who to Call for Information:
Friends of the Carr Refuge/ Sea Turtle Preservation Society: 1-321-676-1701
Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge: 1-561-562-3909 ext. 258
BACK to Carr Companion INDEX
BACK to The Friends of Carr Refuge HomePage