Sea turtles have had a profound influence on the evolution of Florida conservation and coastal management policy. The earliest references to sea turtles in the State’s policy history date to territorial times as the Bahamian government sought special hunting access on Florida beaches. Since then, Florida’s sea turtles have played an outsized role in shaping state, federal and international environmental and fisheries law, as well as coastal management and resiliency policy.

This project takes a deep, objective, and historical dive into the role that sea turtles have played in Florida policy, while providing current and future stakeholders and decisionmakers the benefit that only historical perspective can bring to conservation efforts. The project couples traditional law and policy research methods (legislative history, rulemaking, constitutional and statutory reform, case law and regulatory guidance), with historical research to help shape the narrative. The project includes oral history interviews of key actors in the modern policymaking arena, providing additional valuable perspective.