It’s the first week of May and you know what that means: Sea Turtle nesting season has begun! Typically, you’ll see loggerhead turtles on the South Carolina coast, but our coast offers natural habitat for Kemp’s Ridley, Leatherback, and Green Sea Turtles as well. All seven species of sea turtle are on the Endangered or Threatened species lists and are protected by federal and state laws.
So if you see a nesting turtle, don’t interfere! You can report the nest and help monitor it through the Department of Natural Resource’s Marine Turtle Conservation Program. The program’s website offers educational resources as well as listings of Sea Turtle sightings and nesting sites. Once the nesting season is fully underway, you can even adopt a nest through the website.