VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Sea turtle nesting season officially started in Florida on Monday, but the day also started the one-month countdown to hurricane season.
Dozens of property owners along Volusia County’s coast are just starting reconstruction after last year’s hurricanes severely eroded dunes and took out seawalls. Other residents haven’t been able to start at all and now face challenges to do so with turtles starting to come up.
Though Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has relaxed some of its rules for the construction work this year, if a turtle comes within 20 feet of a project, the work will have to temporarily stop.
“That would throw us right into hurricane season with already a very damaged situation,” said homeowner Linda Abbott.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
Abbott is still waiting on a permit from the state to start the work on her Wilbur-by-the-Sea property, and in the meantime, is now hoping a sea turtle doesn’t choose the beach behind her house.
“As far as bringing the sand in that I’m going to need, which I estimate to be about seven dump trucks worth, gee, I really don’t want to wheelbarrow it from the street,” Abbott said.
Given the amount of destruction still evident in Volusia from last fall’s hurricanes, state and county leaders just came to an agreement a few weeks ago that residents will be allowed to keep the projects going.
“The state will allow folks to not only continue construction if they’ve already started or to begin construction after May 1 provided they have a valid dep permit for the work,” said Volusia’s Public Works Director Ben Bartlett.
He said the county is bringing in more volunteers and staff to monitor the beaches for turtles this year. He said there are still a few dozen property owners still waiting for construction permits and others are just now getting them.
“You’re seeing a fair amount of construction just starting. A lot of those dep permits have finally been issued, obviously it’s not just the permitting but supply chain issues with a lot of material,” Bartlett said.
All of the erosion from the storms also means the beaches are smaller and there is less room for the turtles to go. If this year’s nesting season is anything like 2022′s season, that could be a problem.
Last year officials recorded the highest number of nests in Volusia ever, with just over 1,400. The average before was about 580 a year.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: