Turtle nesting season for the endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles is right around the corner and a big part of making it a successful season is through volunteers, who are much-needed right now.
The Padre Island National Seashore is the main beach where the turtles will lay their eggs. Yesterday (Tuesday) training began at the Malaquite Visitor’s Center as biologists showed volunteers what to do if they spot a nesting turtle.
Volunteers will be required to report any nesting turtles they spot, look out for turtle tracks on the sand and measure each one. Nesting season generally begins April 1st and lasts through the Summer.
Biologist Cynthia Rubio said “We depend on our community to spot these turtles because our beaches are so long and so remote and so we need our community and our volunteers to be out there to spot these turtles for us.”
There are several upcoming training classes that’ll be held over the next couple of months. For more information on those classes and to sign up please call (361) 949-8174, ext. 268 or email at pais_seaturtlevolunteer@nps.gov.
