Contact: Lexie Beach
352-373-6441 or lexie@conserveturtles.org
March 2020
The Sea Turtle Grants Program (STGP), funded by the sale of Florida’s “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, recently awarded $340,439 to 20 different projects benefiting Florida sea turtles as part of the 2020-2021 grant funding cycle. Each year, the STGP distributes money to coastal county governments, educational and research institutions and nonprofit groups through a competitive application process. The sea turtle specialty license plate is also the primary source of funding for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Turtle Protection Program.
The following organizations received grants for their approved projects for the 2020-2021 cycle:
Sea Turtle Conservancy: Sea Turtle TECH: Inspiring the Future Stewards of the Archie Carr Refuge
Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW): Sea Turtle Handing and Transport
Volusia County Marine Science Center: Advanced Diagnostic Equipment
Mote Marine Laboratory: ATV for Expansion of Use in Morning Nesting Surveys
Florida State University, Dr. Mariana Fuentes: Population structure and foraging ecology of loggerhead turtles in Crystal River
Inwater Research Group: Information to Protect Florida’s Most Valuable and Vulnerable Sea Turtles from Vessel Strikes
North Captiva Sea Turtle Foundation: UTV for North Captiva Sea Turtle Foundation
Florida State University, Dr. Mariana Fuentes: Identification of inundation and erosion hot spots for sea turtles nesting in the northern Gulf of Mexico which may benefit from conservation interventions
Loggerhead Marinelife Center: Establishing baseline demographics for a globally important loggerhead rookery: Year 1
Florida State University, Ian Silver-Gorges: Leveraging Next-Generation Sequencing to Identify Genetic Connectivity and Develop Novel Genetic Markers for Gulf of Mexico Loggerheads
Volusia County Marine Science Center: Live View Turtle Surgery Camera, Monitor & Interactive Displays
Mote Marine Laboratory: Movement Patterns and Life History Parameters of Low Nesting Year Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Gulf of Mexico
Florida State Parks Foundation: Mobile data collectors for sea turtle nesting on Florida State Parks
Florida Atlantic University & Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute: Green turtle health, biotoxin exposure, and foraging ecology in Lake Worth Lagoon, Florida
Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation: Accurate GPS Unit for Locating Sea Turtle Nests and Conducting Conservation Research
University of Florida – Whitney Laboratory: Sea Turtle Transport Vehicle for The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Laboratory
East Coast Biologists, Inc.: The Efficacy of Mitigation Reefs for Marine Turtles
Stella Maris Environmental Research: Characterizing the light environment and hatchling orientation index on Brevard South Beaches
Loggerhead Marinelife Center: Implementation of a Boater Voluntary Speed Reduction Zone in Palm Beach County
Gulfarium C.A.R.E. Foundation: Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Surgery Suite