If you’ve been to the Outer Banks, you’ve probably seen a turtle nest enclosure on the beach- a nice square section of beach marked with poles and yellow tape to help protect the turtle nest. If you were really lucky, you might have seen a turtle nest “boil” or hatching. Hundreds of tiny turtles swimming up through the sand and scurrying down to the ocean, all with the help of at least a half dozen N.E.S.T. volunteers on hand, keeping an eye on the nest, holding sightseers at bay, clearing a path to the ocean.
Well, now the folks that help the turtles need OUR help. They need a couple of new ATV’s, and since much of what N.E.S.T. does is patrol the beach, it’s easy to see this is a critical need. The Outer Banks Voice is helping out by posting this call for action on their site, and we are doing the same!
“The Network for Endangered Sea Turtles needs help raising money to replace two all-terrain vehicles for its beach patrols.
N.E.S.T. has a fleet of six ATVs. Despite constant maintenance, sand and salt limit the life of the ATVs to no more than six to seven years.
Two of the group’s ATVS have only months of useful service left. Replacing an ATV costs about $4,000. N.E.S.T. needs to raise $8,000 its 2015 regular budget to replace the two severely rusted ATVs.
From May 1 to Sept. 1, 45 of each year, N.E.S.T. volunteers patrol 50 miles of beach each day between Oregon Inlet and the Virginia border on ATVs looking for turtle crawls and nests.
N.E.S.T. is not publicly funded and is working to raise money through special events and grants. But the group also is asking for tax-deductible donations.”
[box type=”bio”] Read this story and get great daily OBX news on the Outer Banks Voice![/box]
[box type=”info”] For more information about N.E.S.T., call (252) 441-8622 or visit www.nestonline.org and click on their DONATION link to help.[/box]