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Ecoloy,ical Associates, Inc. — Cost Proposal and Scope of Work 2 <br />Task 2: Sea Turtle Nesting Surveys and Data Management <br />Daily morning sea turtle nesting surveys will be conducted beginning March 1, 2024, <br />and will continue uninterrupted through September 30, 2024. Thereafter, surveys will <br />be performed three days per week until the last marked nest has been evaluated. <br />Surveys will commence within 30 minutes of sunrise. Monitoring will be performed <br />by EAI staff either on foot or using ATVs. All emergences (turtle crawls) apparent <br />from the previous night will be interpreted to determine which species of turtle came <br />ashore and whether it nested. Crawls will be denoted as being above or below the <br />previous high tide line. The approximate geographic location of each crawl will be <br />determined by GPS (sub -meter accuracy). In addition to segregating crawls into nesting <br />and non -nesting emergences (false crawls), each false crawl will be assigned to one of <br />the following categories denoting the stage at which the nesting attempt was <br />abandoned: no digging, abandoned body pit, or abandoned egg cavity. Any obstacles <br />encountered by turtles 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 on a weekly basis to Indian River County so appropriate remedial action may be <br />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 #261 issued by FWC to EAI Director <br />of Operations Niki Desjardin or Marine Turtle Permit #277 issued to Senior Scientist <br />Joseph Scarola. All persons engaged in monitoring for Indian River County will be <br />listed on the permits. <br />All data will be subject to rigorous QA/QC protocols and stored in EAI's project - <br />specific database. Weekly crawl and predation data, along with monthly summary <br />reports will be furnished to Indian River County. These monthly reports will tabulate <br />the dates and times of monitoring, names of monitoring personnel, numbers of sea turtle <br />emergences by species, and numbers of nests marked and evaluated for reproductive <br />success, as applicable. Monthly reports will be submitted to the County by the last day <br />