Save Florida's Sea Turtle Hatchlings
- by: Center for Biological Diversity
- recipient: U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is currently evaluating the status of the Hillsboro Inlet Entrance Lighthouse in Pompano, Fla., and its effect on endangered sea turtles. The lighthouse casts an extremely bright, 1,000-watt light onto the beach that attracts sea turtle hatchlings and lures them to their doom.
For years authorized volunteers have patrolled the area rescuing disoriented hatchlings -- who crawl toward the light instead of toward the safety of the sea -- and moving them to darker beaches.
Artificial light can also cause nesting mothers to head toward land instead of the sea where they and their young die of exhaustion, predation, entanglement, dehydration or even automotive strikes.
This issue has been inaccurately spun as a choice between sea turtles and a beloved, historic lighthouse. But in fact there are simple steps that can give Florida's sea turtles a fighting chance.
Ask the U.S. Coast Guard to enact the simple measures necessary to save Florida's endangered sea turtles.
For years authorized volunteers have patrolled the area rescuing disoriented hatchlings -- who crawl toward the light instead of toward the safety of the sea -- and moving them to darker beaches.
Artificial light can also cause nesting mothers to head toward land instead of the sea where they and their young die of exhaustion, predation, entanglement, dehydration or even automotive strikes.
This issue has been inaccurately spun as a choice between sea turtles and a beloved, historic lighthouse. But in fact there are simple steps that can give Florida's sea turtles a fighting chance.
Ask the U.S. Coast Guard to enact the simple measures necessary to save Florida's endangered sea turtles.
Dear [Decision Maker],
I strongly urge you to take simple steps to protect sea turtles in Pompano. Sea turtles use light as a navigation tool, instinctively moving toward light at night. Sand dunes typically obscure the night's natural light from their view, and this instinct to follow the light allows them to then find the sea. But when artificial lights shine above the sand dunes, sea turtles can become disoriented and wander to their death.
The Hillsboro Inlet Entrance Lighthouse is a major source of artificial light that has been documented to cause sea turtle disorientation and even death. It is unclear whether the lighthouse still serves a valid navigational role; its continued operation would likely only be cosmetic and historical. Therefore, if the Coast Guard determines it is necessary to continue to illuminate the lighthouse, there are several steps it can and should take to help reduce the danger to sea turtles from the lighthouse.
1. Change the color from 1,000-watt tungsten halogen (bright white) to high or preferably low pressure sodium (yellowish tinge) for a more animal-friendly color.
2. Reduce the lumen output by using several 250-watt lamps or fewer.
3. Mask the portion of the lens room visible from the sand by rotating the metal shield blocking condominium bedrooms that is already in place.
4. Install a frosted, Plexiglas panel or filter curtain to dim the beam, only over the nesting beaches and only during turtle season.
5. Shield the bottom half pane of glass in the light enclosure such that stray light visible to the beach is eliminated.
6. Shield the bottom of the clamshell double lens so the lamp is not visible to the ground directly below and about 100-feet from the supporting structure.
7. Change the speed or direction of rotation so it is more suitable to sea turtle nesting.
8. Paint the ceiling and all structural elements in the lens room nonreflecting black.
9. Tinted glass or film with a visible light transmittance value of 45 percent or less could be applied to all glass windows and doors within line of sight of dry land.
Thank you for seriously considering these measures. This issue is important to me personally, and I look forward to seeing many of these simple turtle-safety measures put into practice.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionI strongly urge you to take simple steps to protect sea turtles in Pompano. Sea turtles use light as a navigation tool, instinctively moving toward light at night. Sand dunes typically obscure the night's natural light from their view, and this instinct to follow the light allows them to then find the sea. But when artificial lights shine above the sand dunes, sea turtles can become disoriented and wander to their death.
The Hillsboro Inlet Entrance Lighthouse is a major source of artificial light that has been documented to cause sea turtle disorientation and even death. It is unclear whether the lighthouse still serves a valid navigational role; its continued operation would likely only be cosmetic and historical. Therefore, if the Coast Guard determines it is necessary to continue to illuminate the lighthouse, there are several steps it can and should take to help reduce the danger to sea turtles from the lighthouse.
1. Change the color from 1,000-watt tungsten halogen (bright white) to high or preferably low pressure sodium (yellowish tinge) for a more animal-friendly color.
2. Reduce the lumen output by using several 250-watt lamps or fewer.
3. Mask the portion of the lens room visible from the sand by rotating the metal shield blocking condominium bedrooms that is already in place.
4. Install a frosted, Plexiglas panel or filter curtain to dim the beam, only over the nesting beaches and only during turtle season.
5. Shield the bottom half pane of glass in the light enclosure such that stray light visible to the beach is eliminated.
6. Shield the bottom of the clamshell double lens so the lamp is not visible to the ground directly below and about 100-feet from the supporting structure.
7. Change the speed or direction of rotation so it is more suitable to sea turtle nesting.
8. Paint the ceiling and all structural elements in the lens room nonreflecting black.
9. Tinted glass or film with a visible light transmittance value of 45 percent or less could be applied to all glass windows and doors within line of sight of dry land.
Thank you for seriously considering these measures. This issue is important to me personally, and I look forward to seeing many of these simple turtle-safety measures put into practice.
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