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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA PUBLIC NOTICE <br /> BOARD MEMORANDUM (INFORMATIONAL <br /> TO: Jason E. Brown, County Administrator <br /> THROUGH: Richard B. Szpyrka, P.E., Public Works Director <br /> THROUGH: James D. Gray,Jr., Coastal Engineer J <br /> FROM: Kendra L. Cope, M.S., Environmental Specialist <br /> SUBJECT: UPDATE—Sea Turtle Nesting Season - Halfway <br /> DATE: July 6, 2016 <br /> RE UEST <br /> It is requested that the following information be given formal consideration by the Board of <br /> County Commissioners during the regularly scheduled meeting on July 12, 2016. <br /> This is an announcement to inform the residents of Indian River County about the successful <br /> loggerhead sea turtle nesting season the county has been experiencing as well as a new upcoming <br /> educational event based around sea turtles.Additional information on upcoming event dates can <br /> be found on County. Coastal Facebook page: IRC Coastal and on the County website <br /> www.ircgov.com/coastal. <br /> DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS <br /> Indian River County is home to 3 species of nesting sea turtles (Loggerhead, Green, and <br /> Leatherback). In 2004, the County implemented a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in order to <br /> establish a framework for sea turtle conservation in Indian River County through daily nesting <br /> surveys, nest protection during emergency shoreline protection construction, management of <br /> predator impacts, implementing programs to reduce human impacts, and local education. More <br /> specifically,to better understand and integrate protection measures, the county's objectives for <br /> protecting turtles on the beach are as follows; record the location of every turtle crawl on the <br /> beach from the previous night, mark off a sample of nests to determine hatching success and for <br /> educational programs, and record all impacts to nests including nest predations,tidal over wash <br /> and human impacts. Sea turtles are long-lived species and take up to 25-30 years to become <br /> mature adults. Long-term monitoring is vital to the understanding of their populations. <br /> This is the 12th year of county-wide monitoring since the HCP program was implemented. Data <br /> collected over these years has helped the county protect nests during beach construction <br /> projects, decrease the number of nests effected by raccoons, and identify key areas impacting <br /> hatchling survival from artificial beachfront lights. <br /> F:\Public Works\Kendra Cope\Public Presentations and Meetings\Commission Meeting Items\Informational <br /> Item\Sea Turtle Nesting_6_30_2016_Public Notice Informational BOCC Agenda Item—Final Rev i.docx 3 <br />