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Surveys will commence within 30 minutes of sunrise. Monitoring will be performed <br />by EAI staff or Indian River County staff/volunteers either on foot or using ATVs <br />(Indian River County staff have agreed to perform the nesting surveys three days per <br />week). All emergences (turtle crawls) apparent from the previous night will be <br />interpreted to determine which species of turtle came ashore and whether or not it <br />nested. Crawls will be denoted as being above or below the previous high tide line. <br />The approximate geographic location of each crawl will be determined by GPS (sub- <br />meter accuracy). In addition to segregating crawls into nesting and non -nesting <br />emergences (false crawls), each false crawl will be assigned to one of the following <br />categories denoting the stage at which the nesting attempt was abandoned: no digging, <br />abandoned body pit, or abandoned egg cavity. Any obstacles encountered by turtles <br />during their crawls will be documented. <br />Disorientation Reporting. During the course of daily monitoring, any evidence of <br />hatchling misorientation or disorientation from either marked or unmarked nests will <br />be documented using FWC's electronic Marine Turtle Hatchling Disorientation <br />Incident Report Form. Based on track evaluations, an estimate of the number of <br />hatchlings disoriented will be recorded and light sources potentially responsible for the <br />disorientation identified. Information concerning each incident will be forwarded by <br />email to Indian River County so appropriate remedial action may be taken. <br />Stranding and Salvage. A requirement of FWC sea turtle permit holders conducting <br />nesting surveys is to respond to the stranding of sick, injured and dead sea turtles within <br />their survey area. These animals are examined, and if alive, transported to state - <br />approved care facilities. A standard Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage data form will <br />be completed and submitted for each stranded animal encountered by EAI. This <br />information will be transmitted to FWC in accordance with established guidelines. <br />State and Federal Authorizations. All sea turtle monitoring and related activities will <br />be performed under FWC Marine Turtle Permit #19-261. Pending approval, this permit <br />will be issued by FWC to EAI Senior Project Manager, Niki Desjardin. All persons <br />engaged in monitoring for Indian River County will be listed on the permit. <br />All data will be subject to rigorous QA/QC protocols and stored in EAI's project - <br />specific database. Monthly summary reports will be furnished to Indian River County. <br />These reports will tabulate the dates and times of monitoring, names of monitoring <br />personnel, numbers of sea turtle emergences by species, and numbers of nests marked <br />and evaluated for reproductive success, as applicable. Monthly reports will be <br />submitted to the County on the last day of the month following delivery of services <br />(e.g., March report due no later than April 30). <br />C. Nest Marking and Monitoring (Task 3). <br />A representative sample of nests will be marked for determination of nest fate and <br />reproductive success (not to exceed 250 nests total in the entire Survey Area). Nests <br />will be marked using a series of stakes and surveyor's tape. These nests will be <br />