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Monthly Membership Meeting
Monday, March 2nd 6:30 pm
MOTE Marine Labs
Summerland Key
Join us for a free tour of MOTE and their wonderful coral restoration program. Learn how they grow new corals and outplant them on the reef tract along the Florida Keys.
Board Meeting will immediately follow.
The public is invited to attend.
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Come Tour our Education Trailer!
March 28th: MOTE Ocean Fest, Key West
April 18th: Earth Day, Bahia Honda
April 25th & 26th: Earth Day Celebration
The Otherside Adventure Park
in Marathon
More info coming soon.
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SAT Mourns Passing of Lifetime Member Donald Jensen
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Don & Margie Jensen receiving Lifetime Membership award presented by Mike Beir
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It is with heavy heart that Save-A-Turtle, Inc acknowledges the recent passing of Life Member, Don Jensen.
Don and his wife Margie became full time residents of Plantation Key, residing in their ocean front home after decades of living in the Miami area, working and raising a family, and ultimately, upon retiring, moved to the Florida Keys.
Shortly thereafter, in 1986 (one year after the founding of Save-A-Turtle and its first nesting season of beach patrolling), a friend introduced the Jensen’s to our organization and the “rest is history”.
Don being a career City of Miami Fire Fighter, and not uncharacteristically of professional fireman, passed those life-saving traits down through the generations to other family members – father to son, son to grandson, be it humans or sea turtles.
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With SAT, Don found an ideal fit. He became the “go to guy” in the Upper Keys for sea turtles through the Sea Turtle Stranding & Salvage Network. When a call came in for assistance needed to transport an injured sea turtle to the recently founded Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Don was on the spot.
With one of two plywood backboard stretchers he made to help carry larger sea turtles, he was off to Marathon with his important and precious cargo for The Turtle Hospital. Don once recalled that with the turtle in the open back bed of his pickup truck, nobody could really see the body of the turtle. All the passerby’s could see were these two giant flippers wildly waving to the heavens above with an incredulous looks on their faces as if to say “What the heck is that all about?”
Yes, it is with sorrow that we say goodbye to Don. Because of his guidance and help through the very beginning years of Save-A-Turtle and others like him, a strong foundation was created and has been flourishing for 35 years now. “Father to son, son to grandson”, be it humans or sea turtles.
The Jensen Family wishes that all who want to make a memorial donation in Don Jensen’s name, please make it to: Save-A-Turtle, Inc. and note it for Robert Jensen Endowment Trust Fund. Thank you .
Memorial written by SAT Historian Mike Bier
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11 Year Old Kansas Girl helps SAT for Her Birthday
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Birthday Cake decorated by Olivia's grandmother
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Turtle Friendly Party Favors
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Olivia P. from Shawnee, Kansas is truly an amazing little girl! At the age of 10, she is an aspiring marine biologist, with a passion for sea turtles and the environment. For her 11th birthday this past month, she requested a sea turtle themed party, and in lieu of gifts, asked her friends to Adopt a Baby Sea Turtle through Save-A-Turtle! Olivia's request raised $150 for SAT. And or course, eco and turtle friendly party favors were provided to all of her guests.
When corresponding with Olivia's mom Audrey, she informed me that 3 years ago, (she was only 8!) Olivia and her friends made an informative power point presentation for their school principle and cafeteria staff, requesting that they reduce their use of plastic straws. Well it worked! The following school year, the school removed straws for public use, keeping them available to students who do need them.
Olivia....we wish you a very Happy Birthday and thank you with all of our hearts for your efforts. You are an amazing girl and we know you have an incredible future ahead of you.
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Want to Join Olivia and Adopt a Baby Sea Turtle? (or 2 or 3)
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Live in the Florida Keys?
Looking for Turtle Nest Surveyors
for the 2020 Season.
- Season runs from April 15th - October ?
- Need volunteers willing to walk the beach 1-2 mornings per week monitoring for nests.
- Mandatory FWC STATE training to be held in April in Marathon. It's free but you MUST attend. Date TBA.
- No experience or turtle knowledge necessary
- Walkers needed for Sugarloaf, Marathon and Islamorada.
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Sea Turtle Nesting Season off to an Exciting Start
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Earliest Leatherback sea turtle nest ever documented in...
The first Leatherback sea turtle nest of the 2020 nesting season has been documented on Hutchinson Island. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, this is the earliest leatherback nest documented in Florida to date....
Read more
cbs12.com
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Here come the Leatherbacks!
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Leatherback photo by Ben Hicks in Trinidad
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Leatherback hatchling discover by Bahia Honda Ranger
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Nesting Season 2020 has officially begun! Sea Turtle lovers were thrilled to hear about the first nest of the season in the beginning of February 2020! See article above. Leatherback nesting season is usually from March through July. This is the earliest leatherback nest documented in Florida to date.
Leatherbacks are the largest species of sea turtles, growing up to 8 ft long and weighing as much as 2000 lbs! They live an average of 60-100 years and can typically lay eggs every 2-3 years, averaging 70-100 eggs in each clutch. Their name comes from their unique “leathery-like” soft shell that is made up of mostly cartilage. Compared to other turtles, leatherbacks can survive in much colder seas. Scientists believe this is because they are equipped with a thick layer of insulating fat and a unique blood system, which keeps their body warmer than the surrounding water. These awesome adaptations also allow them to dive to extreme depths of over 3000 feet, deeper than any other of our planet’s turtles and deeper than a submarine! Their diet primarily consists of jellyfish, eating more than 50% of their body weight in food.
Leatherbacks migrate huge distances between their breeding and feeding areas. They are not commonly found in the Florida Keys. They are often seen traveling through the Keys but do not call it their home because of our lack of deep water. The majority of leatherback nests are laid on the east coast of Florida...50% found in Palm Beach County alone. However, in 2016 a leatherback nest was laid and successfully hatched in Bahia Honda State Park here in the Keys. Since then, two more leatherback nests were again documented at Bahia Honda, however bother were washed out by King Tides.
Due to destruction of their nesting beaches, illegal collection of turtle eggs, pollution and accidental capture in fishing equipment, leatherback turtles are today critically endangered. Thankfully charity organizations, like Save-A-Turtle, strive to help educate the public so that these beautiful creatures can live in peace!
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Report Sick, Injured or Dead Sea Turtles in Fla to FWCC at 888-404-FWCC
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