Turtle Patrol Protests
Topic: Environmental
Bunnell - Turtle Patrol Volunteers staged a protest in front of the county courthouse. They were protesting the county's ban on all terrain vehicles being used to check turtle nesting sites. The demonstration was organized by the Flagler County Beach Environmental Preservation Council, and they carried signs reading: "Prosecute Perverts, not Turtle Patrol" and "Fight Drugs, not Turtles".Without their ATV's, patrol volunteers say they are unable to check the nesting sites in unincorporated Flagler Beach. They are allowed to use their ATV's within city limits. The volunteers say they need their ATV's because they have too much terrain to cover by foot and too much equipment to carry.
Volunteers have to check nests every day when hatchlings begin to emerge and help them to get through the sand to the sea. Other nests are made too close to the sea and have to be moved to higher ground until the turtles hatch.