Sea turtles on Folly Beach face even bigger challenge this year as renourishment project begins
By Lorne Chambers | Editor
May 1 officially marks the beginning of turtle season on Folly Beach. And this year the Folly Beach Turtle Watch team has a bigger job than usual in trying to help the offspring safely make it to the ocean. The 2018 Folly Beach renourishment and stabilization projects, which started in March, are scheduled to continue through September on the east side. With the loggerhead turtle’s breeding season running from April until October the work will have a significant impact on potentially half of the normal loggerhead nests.
“We have already been very busy training our volunteers and canvassing the beach with the Sea Turtle Program Coordinator with South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and Eric Lutz, Director of Building/Facilities/Public Works City of Folly Beach, to determine good relocation areas for nests that are laid between 8 East to Summer Place Lane,” says City Councilmember Teresa Marshall, who also serves on the Folly Beach Turtle Watch. “The section leaders had a preseason turtle meeting in March with all beachfront property managers, Public Safety, Beach Patrol, City Hall staff and Charleston County Park and Rec to provide them with how they can help during turtle season.
Even without human intrusions, the loggerhead turtle, our state reptile, has a challenging life. Only one out of 1,000 eggs will survive to become a reproductive adult. They are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and are protected by federal and state laws. The loggerhead nesting population in the southeastern U.S. is continuing to decline and it has been recommended that this species be reclassified from threatened to endangered.
“Without a doubt, humans are the biggest threat to the Loggerhead turtles,” says Marshall. “The biggest issue we face is lighting issues. Even using cell phone lighting can cause baby hatchlings to go away from the natural lighting of the stars and moon.”
Last year on Folly Beach there were numerous reports of hatchlings disoriented by manmade light and some hatchlings were run over by cars on Center Street because they were disoriented by lights. According to Marshall, other major threats are trash, toys and furniture left on the beach as well as man-made holes on the beach. Marshall says to contact Public Safety if they notice any issues with a nest.
The added challenge of the beach renourishment project on the east side of the island has caused for extra efforts from the Folly Beach Turtle Watch. Along with her team, Marshall has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers and City of Folly on a “scope of work” for A.M. monitoring. Marshall, Nancy Smith, and Bob Neville conduct A.M. monitoring of the renourishment project from 8th block to 14th block east. Each morning they must provide an “All Clear” signal before work can begin.
Starting in June, Marinex, the construction company who is the contractor for the renourishment project, will hire P.M. monitors as well. “After a meeting with SCDNR and Fish and Wildlife, they decided they wanted to use trained turtle monitors for the P.M. monitoring as we can deal with any nesting issues that could arise,” says Marshall. “At this time, I can tell you that when P.M. monitoring begins, we will be monitoring from dusk-to-dawn every hour during that time frame.” The monitors will be paid for by Marinex throughout turtle season, which runs from May 1 to Oct. 31.
Last year Folly Beach had 71 loggerhead turtle nests — 35 nests were west of the pier and 36 were east of the pier. To ensure no nests go undetected, the Folly Beach Turtle Watch volunteers begin daily monitoring of Folly’s entire 6-plus mile beach beginning May 1. For the last two years the first nest laid on Folly Beach occurred on May 16.
