Grant: 21-023E
Project Title: Lighting the Way for Sea Turtles at Sebastian Inlet State Park
Project Manager: Julia Gill Woodward
Organization: Florida State Parks Foundation (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $24,476.00
Completion Date: 2023-11-20
Summary: Sebastian Inlet State Park is located within the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (ACNWR), which is a critical area for the nesting of loggerhead sea turtles. The beaches of the ACNWR support the largest nesting colony of loggerhead turtles in the western hemisphere, the second largest in the world. The park also provides important nesting habitat for green and leatherback sea turtles. Sebastian Inlet, one of the State of Florida's thirteen Index Parks for sea turtle nesting, hosts 800 nests during the May-October sea turtle nesting season. It is imperative that beachfront buildings at the park have sea turtle compliant lighting to ensure turtles can nest undisturbed. This project will install sea turtle friendly lighting around Sebastian Inlet's concessionaire building as well as along a heavily trafficked sidewalk connecting the beach access to restrooms and the parking lot. In addition, sea turtle interpretive panels will be updated to provide education about sea turtle species, habitat, nesting, and conservation as well as highlighting the importance of sea turtle friendly lightning to the more than 760,000 visitors and residents that frequent the park annually.
Results: The purpose of this project was to upgrade outside lights to sea turtle friendly lighting and install sea turtle interpretive panels for public education at Sebastian Inlet State Park, and this was accomplished. Staff changes at both Florida State Parks Foundation and Sebastian Inlet State Park created delays in carrying out the project. The original Foundation project manager left and similarly, the same thing happened at the park with the person closest to the project, the park manager, leaving and a new one coming in. In addition, the park services specialist (the park staff person mostly responsible for interpretive programs) also left and was replaced by a new person. Other causes for delay were supply chain issues Fossil Graphics was dealing with and Hurricane Nicole interfering with instillation of the interpretive panels.