Sea Turtle Nests Delay Flagler Beach Pier Construction

The long-awaited construction of a new pier in Flagler Beach will have to wait a while longer. Just as crews were starting to get noticeable work done, the project was brought to a halt by two sea turtle nests laid in the middle of the work area. Work will be stopping Wednesday for close to two months, giving the turtles time to hatch from their eggs and make their way into the ocean. Estimates put the hatching date at September 10th or later. This week caution tape was installed around two nests just feet away from the construction site. First a green sea turtle and later a loggerhead sea turtle emerged from the ocean to lay their eggs beneath the sand, presumably with no realization of the imminent $16 million project. One nest is just ten feet or so from a piling beneath the lifeguard station building. The other is against the grass dune, almost exactly where huge metal pilings were being laid. Turtle nests are protected by law, giving crews and the City of Flagler Beach little choice but to work around their schedule. The time it would take to concoct and implement a workaround would most likely run past the time frame of the eggs’ development. In listings by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, green sea turtles are considered endangered while loggerheads are vulnerable. Green turtle nests typically contain 110 to 115 eggs, while loggerhead nests tend to contain 100 to 126 according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.