MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Audience: The document will be a set of guidelines for beach front property owners between South Carolina and Florida. This lay audience will also include local governments, who may not want to make these into laws, but could at least promote them as guidelines or even subsidize the actions detailed in the document.

Context: Four endangered sea turtle species nest on the Southeastern coast of the US. Hatchlings naturally crawl towards the brightest light on the horizon when they hatch, because pre-humans that would be the moon reflecting off of the ocean. However, they are often confused by artificial light bordering the beach. There are easy ways for home and business owners to change or shelter their lights to protect the hatchlings.

Purpose: This document will provide guidelines for homeowners, as well as hotel or other business owners who have beachfront properties. There are easy, fairly inexpensive ways to cut down on sea turtle hatchling deaths through actions like changing the color of lights facing the beach or redirecting them to point away from the sand.

Document Type: This document will be in 3 parts. The first will establish the importance of sea turtles to the ecosystem and emphasize how they are endangered. With the government audience in mind, it will also address how they can be a boon to tourism. The second part will talk about how artificial light misdirects sea turtle hatchlings, to establish why the lay audience should bother to spend their money on these efforts. Finally, I will outline ways to cut down on beach-front artificial light such as changing the color bulb and putting lights on timers.

K,

This could be a best practices document to help homeowners and beach communities to be welcoming to turtles. Poke around to see if any such documents are posted in communities in the area you mention.

At the end of the document, you can be really practical, much in the way of the directions assignment. Identify bulbs and filters, by brand, with prices and links for shipping. Describe how to tilt the lights, even suggesting that handy people or Scout troops could help some with these acts. For home-owners who rent out homes, help them see the tourism/ecotourism angle to advertising their homes as "turtle-safe."

Be sure to check out the journal Conservation Biology, to see if this work is proposed.