It was a typical site visit to view progress on a local beach restoration project – until it wasn’t. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District employees Lindsay Brantley, Jennifer Tyler, and Brooke Warlitner were traveling along an access road toward Summer Haven to view a beach disposal site when the convoy of vehicles in front of them suddenly began to stop.
“We noticed the vehicles suddenly stop, and people began to file out,” said Tyler. “I heard Lindsay from the backseat say, ‘Oh, it’s a baby turtle.” Tyler noted, “There was a baby turtle right outside the window, so we got out of the vehicle to rescue it.”
At first, the group didn’t realize this was not a lone turtle that lost its way. As they continued to survey the area, they noticed dozens of Loggerhead hatchlings, and the convoy that stopped in front of them was already out trying to rescue as many as they could find.
Under normal circumstances, it is against the law to disturb turtle hatchlings. However, rescuing them under the “Good Samaritan Act” is allowed since these hatchlings were clearly on the wrong path and could be in danger. The Florida Good Samaritan Act provides a “Good Samaritan Exemption” that will enable people to assist in an emergency or treatment to an injured animal – or, in this case, misguided hatchlings.
So how did these hatchlings end up on a private access road, moving away from the ocean? In a rare occurrence, an unmarked nest hatched on a neighboring property, and it had not been previously identified or marked as viable.
To the surprise of everyone that morning, several dozen hatchlings emerged from the unmarked nest and were making their way over to a wetland area and away from the safety of the ocean. This is where our team was able to stop and help them find their way.
“We got out of the vehicles and immediately began scooping up as many as we could find,” said Tyler. “Everywhere you looked, there were hatchlings. Lindsay pointed them out to me and Brooke so we could collect them.”
The timing of this nest hatching made this rescue even more unique. Turtle season typically ends on October 31. However, this discovery occurred in November. In addition, this rarely happens in northern Florida, so it was certainly an anomaly.
As a precaution, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracts require turtle monitoring to take place up until Nov. 30 – even though turtle season officially ends Oct. 31.
“Due to this provision in the contract, the beach patrol and contractors were monitoring the area daily,” said Tyler. “We make provisions for rare cases like this one – and this happened to be one of those rare instances.”
Once all the hatchlings were located and collected, the team took them to the beach where the turtles could safely make their way to the ocean.
This rare turtle rescue was highly successful due to the special provisions of the Florida Good Samaritan Act. However, it is an essential reminder that it is against the law to disturb a nest or hatchlings under normal circumstances, as they are a protected species.
The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District on the district’s website at www.saj.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleDistrict, Twitter at www.twitter.com/JaxStrong, and Instagram at www.instagram.com/jacksonvilledistrict.