Despite hurricanes, coastal national parks offer hope of survival for sea turtles
By Cliff McCreedy

NPS/Solvin Zankl

A female hawksbill sea turtle covers her nest after depositing eggs on the beach in Buck Island Reef National Monument.

At 29 sites within the National Park System, threatened or endangered nesting sea turtles find a rare haven on undeveloped beaches. National Park Service biologists, seasonal workers, and volunteers actively monitor and protect sea turtle nests, cooperate with local stranding networks, and conduct tagging programs to track nesting sea turtles. In 2004, however, turtle nesting numbers declined in many coastal national parks as a result of hurricanes.

The severe storms inflicted substantial damage to beach habitats at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida and Mississippi, flooding or washing away nests and reducing sea turtle reproduction rates. At Florida’s Canaveral National Seashore, Resource Management Specialist John Stiner reported 2,508 sea turtle nests, the lowest total since 1988, including 2,281 loggerheads (Caretta caretta), 255 green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), and 6 leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea). Although the first 1,000 nests produced hatchlings, more than half of the nests had not yet hatched when Hurricane Frances struck the national seashore in late August, and the handful that remained were destroyed by Hurricane Jeanne about a month later. Jeff Cordes, resource management specialist, said that Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina also experienced the fewest number of nests since 1988, where a total of 74 loggerhead nests and 3 leatherback nests were found. Seven nests washed away during Hurricane Alex in early August and 30 other nests were flooded by Alex or other storms and failed to hatch.

However, nesting rates increased at Buck Island Reef National Monument in the Virgin Islands. Typically the park records 20 to 40 nesting hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata), reports Chief of Resources Zandy Hillis-Starr. In 2004, though, 52 nesting hawksbills, along with 9 greens, several leatherbacks, and 1 loggerhead, were observed. In 2003 the park documented the nesting of a hawksbill first tagged as a juvenile in the coral reef surrounding Buck Island seven years ago. Additionally, Padre Island National Seashore in Texas experienced a record-setting year for Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (see related article).

Despite impacts from a troublesome 2004 hurricane season, many coastal national park sites continue to serve as critical nesting grounds for sea turtles.