Santa Rosa officials dim artificial lighting to help sea turtles

Sea turtle hatchlings. [SHELLEY ALEXANDER/SANTA ROSA COUNTY]

NAVARRE BEACH — Artificial lighting along the seashore from houses and businesses has been known to disorient female sea turtles looking to nest and hatchlings searching for the water.

To protect turtles during nesting season, county officials have partnered with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to reduce the impact of artificial lighting on Navarre Beach.

The retrofit lighting, which is part of the "Improving the Habitat Injured by Spill Response: Restoring the Night Sky" project was paid for by Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Phase II Early Restoration funding.

The county's portion of the project aims to reduce lighting impacts on nesting sea turtles along a half-mile stretch of beach. The county worked with property managers, condominium associations and Gulf Power to install turtle-friendly fixtures and bulbs, including improvements to:

  • 611 Gulf-front balcony lights on six condominium buildings
  • 33 pool deck lights
  • 31 parking lot and street lights 

The grant funds also were used to produce materials to educate the public on County Ordinance 12.14.00, which was adopted in 2005, to protect the threatened and endangered sea turtles that nest along Navarre Beach. The educational materials provide information on safeguarding nesting turtles and emerging hatchlings from sources of artificial light.

Brochures, magnets and window clings informing "Lights Out For Sea Turtles" were distributed to property owners, organizations and at festivals and events.

For more information on the project or to get educational material, contact Terry Wallace at 850-981-8888.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa officials dim artificial lighting to help sea turtles