Contact: Lexie Beach
352-373-6441 or lexie@conserveturtles.org
May 2026
The Sea Turtle Grants Program (STGP), funded by the sale of Florida’s “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, recently awarded $581,632.67to 32 different projects benefiting Florida sea turtles as part of the 2026-2027 grant funding cycle. Since it’s inception, the Sea Turtle License Plate Grants Program has awarded more than $8 million to conservation projects.
Each year, the Sea Turtle Grants Program 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 2024-2025 cycle:
- Volusia County Marine Science Center: Ventilator for Sea Turtles
- Inwater Research Group: Scaling Impact in Hispanic Communities: A Proven Model for Sea Turtle Conservation
- New Smyrna Beach Turtle Trackers: Sea Turtles of New Smyrna Beach – Coloring Book
- University of Central Florida: Year 3: Bringing the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group Database into the 21st Century
- Zoo Miami Foundation: Sea Turtle hospital Radiology Equipment
- University of Florida: Enhancing Diagnostic Capabilities for Sea Turtle Rehabilitation and Advanced Veterinary Ultrasound
- Sea Turtle Conservancy: Big Bend Education Initiative
- Okaloosa County: Educational Sea Turtle Materials for Beachfront Properties
- Florida State Parks Foundation: Ride to Rescue: ATV Support for Cold-Stunned Sea Turtle Recovery
- Mote Marine Lab: Portable Radiograph Machine for Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital
- Save-A-Turtle Inc: Sea Turtle Education Trailer Revitalization
- Inwater Research Group: Development and application of SNP genotyping panels for genetic stock inference in aoutheast United States loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta)
- Sea Turtle Conservancy: Expanding Wildlife Lighting Awareness in Florida
- Clearwater Marine Aquarium: Sea Turtle Lifting Equipment for Clearwater Marine Aquarium
- Florida State University: The elusive sex: insights into the spatial ecology of male sea turtles and opportunities to inform their conservation – Year 2
- Friends of the Carr Refuge: Interpretive Signage for the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (Indian River County)
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center: Nesting parameters and habitat use of green turtles in southeast Florida: year 2
- Florida State University: The Invisible Legacy: Establishing Non-invasive Biomarkers to Determine Maternal Transfer of Microplastic in Loggerhead Sea Turtles
- University of Central Florida: Valuing Florida’s Sea Turtles – Public Perceptions, Conservation Preferences, and Economic Impacts
- University of Florida: Within Striking Distance: Loggerhead and Green Turtle Dive Patterns and Vessel Strike Exposure
- Stella Maris Environmental Research: Tread Lightly: Community Education and Citizen Science on Loggerhead Hatchling Success
- Sea Turtle Conservancy: Inspiring Stewardship and Environmental Action in the Archie Carr Refuge
- University of South Florida: Informing Long-Term Monitoring and Conservation of Juvenile Sea Turtles: Quantitative Assessment of Movement Ecology, Survival, and Site Fidelity in St. Joseph Bay
- Florida Gulf Coast University: ATV and trailer to support FGCU’s sea turtle and coastal conservation efforts
- Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles: Sea Turtle Conservation is Elementary
- Coastal Connections, Inc: Sea Turtle E.R.: A STEM Program for High School Students
- Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation: All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) for nest monitoring surveys on Sanibel
- University of Florida: Strengthening Conservation Through Community: A Comprehensive Assessment of Human Capital in Florida’s Sea Turtle Conservation
- University of Miami: Calibrating spatiotemporal vessel strike risk of loggerhead sea turtles in Biscayne Bay
- The Turtle Hospital: Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Therapy Laser
- Sea Turtle Care and Conservation Specialists: Clinical Laboratory Equipment to Enhance Patient Care and Diagnostics