The Carr Companion The newsletter of the Friends of the Carr Refuge Spring 2003

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: Predator Control Plan Approved for Implementation

A Predator Control Plan has been initiated which allows for the removal of predators involved in sea turtle nest predation. This control plan will be implemented in the areas of highest predation. In the Brevard County portion of the Refuge (21 kilometers long), 10% of all the sea turtle nests laid in 2001 were predated by raccoons. However, the majority of those predated nests were limited to a small area. In 2001 on a 3km stretch of beach, 61% of the nests were predated by raccoons, and in the worst 0.5km of that 3km stretch, the predation rate reached 92% of all green and loggerhead sea turtle nests. By concentrating trapping efforts on those sections of beach with high raccoon predation rates, the capture of non-target raccoons and other animals will be minimized. Because walk-in traps will be used and checked every morning, the risk of injury to non-target species will be minimal. All non-target species will be released immediately. Domestic animals are required to be leashed in the Refuge, thus exposure to the live traps should be reduced. However it is recognized that homeowners within the Refuge sometimes lose containment of their pets. Captured domestic animals with identification would be returned to their owners, or taken to the county animal control facility if direct return were not possible. Feral pets without identification would be taken to the county animal control facility. This predator control plan has received the support of the local homeowners within the Refuge in several public hearings.

Beach Renourishment

The beach renourishment project in the southern portion of the Refuge is now complete. The project covered the Ambersand Beach area immediately south of the Sebastian Inlet SRA in Indian River County. The berm crest was raised to 9 feet which should establish more beach mouse habitat in addition to providing a wider sea turtle nesting beach. There was an attempt to reduce the size of the project to protect the near shore bottom which is a good grazing area for juvenile green sea turtles. However, at the same time, not placing enough sand would cause the area to erode too quickly. One of the goals of the county is to use the eroding sand as a feeder for southern beaches in the county.

Continued monitoring of the beaches that had been renourished in Brevard County over the past few years has shown, that while nesting success drops initially from that experienced on beaches that have not been renourished, the hatching success rate has actually increased. One possible explanation for the greater hatching success rate on renourished beaches could be due to having a higher elevation resulting in fewer wash-outs during storms.

Historic Oak Lodge Hammock at Aquarina

A coalition of environmental groups and local residents are urging the State to purchase the historic Oak Lodge Hammock within the Aquarina development. Located in south Brevard County within the Refuge, the property consists of 13 acres of pristine oak hammock, adjacent to the Indian River Lagoon. The Audubon Society has counted more than 111 species of birds here recently. The owners of Aquarina have agreed to sell the property to Brevard County if the funds can be obtained from The Florida Forever Program as well as other State and Federal programs. If the property can not be preserved, it is slated for several 8 story condominiums containing 313 units.

Scrub Jays

The family of scrub jays living in the Refuge have nested again this year with 4 eggs in the nest.

Dune Crossover Signs

New sea turtle information signs have been purchased for installation on dune crossovers within the refuge. They should help to educate the public on how to minimize their impact on nesting sea turtles.

Who to call for information:
Friends of the Carr Refuge 1-321-676-1701
Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge: 1-772-562-3909 ext. 258

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