Sea Turtle Grants Program Awards $340,000 to Conservation Projects in Florida

April 13, 2020

The Sea Turtle Grants Program (STGP), funded by the sale of Florida’s “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, recently awarded $340,439.60 to 20 different projects benefiting Florida sea turtles as part of the 2020-2021 grant funding cycle.

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 2020-2021 cycle:

• Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW): Sea Turtle Handing and Transport
• Volusia County Marine Science Center: Advanced Diagnostic Equipment
• Mote Marine Lab: 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, and Interactive Displays
• Mote Marine Lab: 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
• Sea Turtle Conservancy: Sea Turtle TECH: Inspiring the Future Stewards of the Archie Carr Refuge
• 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

The sea turtle plate is the number two overall selling specialty tag in Florida, and the number one environmental specialty plate. By purchasing the sea turtle specialty license plate, Floridians are voluntarily funding important programs to save endangered sea turtles and their habitats.

To learn more about the Sea Turtle Grants Program and the “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate, please visit www.helpingseaturtles.org.

Posted in Florida, Research|