FWS and NPS Relocate Sea Turtle Nests

The relocation work is part of an unprecedented effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, NOAA, many conservationists long connected to the sea turtle program, and FedEx, to do everything possible to minimize extraordinary risk this year's sea turtle hatchlings face from impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Roughly 700 nests are laid annually across Florida's panhandle and as many as 80 are typically laid on Alabama's beaches with as many as 50,000 hatchlings.

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    July 12, 2010 - Gulf Shores, AL: USFWS biologist and sea turtle expert Dianne Ingram is interviewed. Photo by Barbara Maxfield, USFWS. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/

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    July 9, 2010 - Port St. Joe, FL: Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Tom Strickland (in blue) stands and watches as the nest excavation begins. Photo by Denise Rowell, USFWS. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/

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    July 9, 2010 - Port St. Joe, FL: USFWS biologists Dianne Ingram and Lorna Patrick make sure conditions are perfect for these sea turtle eggs. Photo by Denise Rowell, USFWS. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/

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    June 28, 2010 nest relocation: As many as 80 sea turtle nests are typically laid on Alabama's beaches with as many as 50,000 hatchlings. Photo by Bonnie Strawser, USFWS. www.fws.gov/bonsecour/

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    June 28, 2010: Where there are a few eggs, there can be up to 100! Sea turtles can lay around 100 eggs per nest. Photo taken at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, www.fws.gov/bonsecour/ by Bonnie Strawser, USFWS.

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    July 12, 2010 Gulf Shores, AL - Alabama's first sea turtle nest to transfer to Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Regional Director Cindy Dohner carries half the eggs from the nest of 127 eggs to the waiting FedEx truck. Photo by Bonnie Strawser, USFWS www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill

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    Apalachicola, FL July 19, 2010. Dave Moody of St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge carefully removes sea turtle eggs to increase chances of survival. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/ Credit: Shawn Nagle/NPS

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    July 16, 2010 - Port St. Joe, FL: A peek over University of Florida student Jacob Hill's shoulder as he places another egg into the cooler. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/ Photo by Jennifer Strickland, USFWS.

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    July 16, 2010 - Port St. Joe, FL: Our group of excavators form a circle around the dig. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/ Photo by Jennifer Strickland, USFWS.

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    July 16, 2010 - Port St. Joe, FL: Carries were specially designed to transport the coolers to the car. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/ Photo by Jennifer Strickland, USFWS.

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    July 16, 2010 - Port St. Joe, FL: Seth Farris and Jacob Hill (University of Florida) carry the sea turtle eggs from the first nest. www.fws.gov/home/dhoilspill/ Photo by Jennifer Strickland, USFWS.

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