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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA <br />MEMORANDUM'C'' <br />TO: Board of County Commissioners <br />THROUGH: Richard B. Szpyrka, P.E. Public Works Director <br />THROUGH: Eric Charest, Natural Resources Manager <br />FROM: Quintin Bergman, M.S., Sea Turtle Environmental Specialist <br />SUBJECT: Agreement with USDA -APHIS Wildlife Services <br />DATE: October 29, 2021 <br />DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION <br />On December 1, 2004 Indian River County (IRC) received an Incidental Take Permit from the U.S. Fish and <br />Wildlife Service (USFWS) which required IRC to initiate the Habitat Conservation Plan: A Plan for t -)e <br />Protection of Sea Turtles on the Eroding Beaches in Indian River County, Florida (HCP). The primary goal <br />of the HCP is to maintain a comprehensive plEn to protect State and Federally listed sea turtle species <br />within IRC. Through the HCP, the County has established a Sea Turtle Conservation Program that <br />encompasses coordinating countywide nest monitoring, artificial lighting ordinance and nighttime <br />surveys, various education and outreach activities, and coordination on responses to sick and injured sea <br />turtles. <br />Occasionally sea turtle nests are eaten or destroyed by another animal. In the early 2000's when the HCP <br />was first established, the raccoons were the most prevalent predator on sea turtle nests taking 5%-10% <br />of the nests in a given area. The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, the only Refuge established for the <br />protection of sea turtles, managed the raccoon predators under their Comprehensive Conservation Plan. <br />Since that management action, nest predation I as remained low, >1% to 3% nests per season. <br />During the 2021 sea turtle nesting season, morning surveyors from Ecological Associates Inc. (EAI) have <br />documented 261 sea turtle nests predated within a 3.1 mile (5 km) area in the northern part of IRC as of <br />October 14, 2021. Coyotes were identified as predating majority of these nests (226 nests). These nests <br />are located around the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, Treasure Shores Park and the Seaview <br />Subdivision in the northern part of the County. The first predated nest occurred earlier in the season and <br />have been occurring regularly up to the date of this agenda. <br />Table 1: 2021 Nesting Season Breakdown of Nest Predators in the Impacted Area (3.1 mi.). <br />Predator Number of Nests <br />Type Impacted <br />Coyote 226 <br />Unknown <br />17 <br />Canine/Dog <br />8 <br />Crab <br />6 <br />Raccoon <br />2 <br />Bobcat <br />2 <br />Total 261 <br />36 <br />