Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for October–December 2025
Trees and Turtles Don’t Mix
by Matthew Godfrey, State Sea Turtle Biologist, and Sarah Finn, NC Stranding and Salvage Network Coordinator
N orth Carolina has close to 330 miles of sandy beaches along the coast that are used as nesting habitat by sea turtles during summer and fall months each year. The WRC North Car- olina Sea Turtle Project works closely with local, county, and state officials to ensure that coastal beaches remain free of objects that may obstruct access of sea turtles to this habitat. For instance, many coastal towns have ordinances that require all beach furniture to be removed from the strand by sundown to ensure that adult female sea turtles can freely move about the beach at night, when they normally lay eggs. In early February 2026, a local coastal advocacy group orga- nized the placement of discarded Christmas trees on the beach strand at Carolina Beach, with the intention of encouraging the capture of wind-blown sand to facilitate dune formation and growth. In some places, the trees were placed on the flat beach strand, where turtles normally nest. Biologists with WRC worked with the NC Division of Coastal Management, the Town of Car- olina Beach, and the local advocacy group to remove improperly placed trees before the expected start of the 2026 sea turtle nest- ing season in early May. Biologists with WRC continue to part- ner with coastal communities to ensure that healthy beach hab- itats are maintained for coastal wildlife in North Carolina.
MATTHEW GODFREY/NCWRC
Improperly placed old Christmas trees on the flat beach strand of Carolina Beach.
MATTHEW GODFREY/NCWRC
18
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online