Grant: 26-055C
Project Title: All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) for nest monitoring surveys on Sanibel
Project Manager: Savannah Weber
Organization: Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $7,220.20
Completion Date:
Summary: The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is dedicated to the conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on Sanibel and Captiva and works closely with the City of Sanibel's Natural Resources Department and other environmental partners to protect the island's natural ecology. Loggerheads (Caretta caretta), green turtles (Chelonia mydas), and more rarely leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea) and Kemp's ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii), nest on Sanibel beaches. SCCF holds the marine turtle permit for nesting and stranding activities on Sanibel and Captiva Islands and monitors approximately 18 miles of beach daily from April through October. In recent years the westernmost end of Sanibel (Clam Bayou to Blind Pass) has become impassible using a Utility Task Vehicle (UTV) due to severe erosion and remnants of a dead mangrove forest. To complete these surveys, an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) is needed to monitor the westernmost stretch of Sanibel Island. However, our current ATV has been used for many seasons and is at the end of its life. A new suitable lightweight vehicle is critically needed to facilitate nesting surveys on this erosional stretch of beach and will result in data including crawl documentation, excavations for nesting success, and ongoing conservation efforts to reduce nest depredation. Sea turtle monitoring on Sanibel began in the late 1950's and the use of an ATV will make it possible to maintain spatial continuity in a valuable long-term dataset. This vehicle would greatly enhance the capacity of our sea turtle program, which benefits state and federal sea turtle program goals related to sea turtle nest monitoring.
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