Sea Turtles Have a New On-Line Home

Fans of Georgia sea turtles can now log on to the internet and keep track of recently discovered nesting sites. The web site will also help researchers manage the data collected daily from May to October each year. The site is a collaboration between the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

In a statement on the sea turtle.org website, a spokesperson for the group called the new Sea Turtle Nest Monitoring System "a revolution in sea turtle conservation and management."

Sea turtles are considered as either endangered or threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. However, Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials are confident the nests are safe from overenthusiastic sightseers.

"More than anything, I believe that this database will allow people to see where the turtles are nesting. And, it goes a long way simply because many of the residents of coastal Georgia are somewhat competitive about which turtles nest on their beaches, so its kinda something they want to know. For researchers, I don't think that they're necessarily worried about people going out and disturbing the nests," says Christina Summers.

Researchers and sea turtle fans will be able to coordinate nesting data on-line in real-time for four species of sea turtles, along 710 miles of coastline between North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia for approximately 4,800 nests each year. To learn how many turtles have nested this season --- and where they are -– go on line to www.seaturtle.org.

Shrimp Season Opens In Georgia

Shrimping season is now open in Georgia’s waters, as of 6am this morning. The season allows trawlers to operate in the state’s territorial waters extending three miles offshore, with people allowed to use cast nets to catch shrimp. According to the Department of Natural Resources, shrimpers in Georgia harvested nearly two-million pounds of shrimp last year.

Washington County Man Appeals Illegal Deer Hunting Fine

Jens Brynteson of Warthen has appealed a $70,000 fine by the Department of Natural Resources.

The fine came after the DNR shut down an illegal penned deer hunting operation run by Brynteson.

John Bowers, the assistant chief of game management for Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division, was part of an 18 month investigation by the DNR that resulted in the fine.

"Mr. Brynteson, who had a deer-farming license for one piece of property, was taking those species….unlawfully transporting them down to another property where there was a shooting pen established," said Bowers.

The appeal holds up efforts by the DNR to confiscate Brynteson’s 1,000 deer. It also postpones payment of the fine.

No date has been set for an appeals hearing.

'Fay' may have hurt coastal turtles

Tropical storm Fay’s trek through south Georgia might have had an adverse effect on the state’s loggerhead sea turtle nests.

It's already expected to be a record nesting season for the state and federally-protected loggerhead--officials predict a total of nearly 16-hundred nests to be recorded.

It's now in the middle of hatching season. But because of the rough weather on the coast the past two days, the fear is many of those nests may have been destroyed. Mark Dodd heads the sea turtle program for the Department of Natural Resources.

"Tide has been much higher than predicted and there’s been a bit of a storm surge. We have some preliminary reports from some of the barrier islands and it appears some nests have been affected but we really don’t know to what extent at this point".

Dodd says he expects sea turtle interns and technicians to hit the beaches over the weekend to begin to survey the possible damage to the nests.

Lanier gator still on the loose

State wildlife officials continue to come up empty in their search for an alligator that’s been spotted in Lake Lanier. A Department of Natural Resources biologist says the gator has yet to take the bait placed in traps set last week. Officials have also been conducting night searches with spotlights. The search for the three-to-four foot long gator has continued from late last month. The hope is to catch the gator and return it to a more traditional habitat in south Georgia.