News
Leatherback Sea Turtles, the largest turtles in the world, are facing significant threats from climate change, habitat loss, and artificial lighting. These ocean giants, known for their incredible migration journeys, rely on a few crucial nesting sites to lay their eggs. The Refuge System plays a vital role in protecting these habitats. Discover how you can help protect Leatherback Sea Turtles and support our conservation initiatives.
Jessica Castro-Prieto and her team recently completed the nesting reporting for the 2021 nesting season which extends from April to July. 1,545 leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) nests were reported, with the municipalities of Dorado, Añasco, Maunabo, Luquillo, and Arecibo accounting for 70 percent of the total nesting activity in the island.
The National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA), the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER), and various community-based groups are working together to reduce major threats affecting leatherback nesting beaches around Puerto Rico with funding provided by the National Fish and Widlife Foundation (NFWF).
Puerto Rico has taken some of the most forceful steps of any U.S. jurisdiction to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. These mandates put a hold on our new project to restore nesting beaches for leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in Puerto Rico. In spite of the constraints, I am working on the project where possible. I have even enlisted my family in helping to collect and plant seeds that will eventually grow to plants that we will re-plant on nesting beaches to reduce erosion and as natural fences to avoid road kills.
Our work in Puerto Rico is diverse, all in support of wildlife conservation. Your support to the National Wildlife Refuge Association allows us to hire professional staff that can provide technical and administrative support to the National Wildlife Refuge System and adjoining lands to help protect and conserve critical habitats and endangered species.
