Turtle Journal

Friday November 28, 2008 Cape Cod Online | Classifieds | Contact Us | Subscriber Tools | Mobile News | E-mail Newsletters

Recent Letters to the Editor

Auction bidders were heroes in turtle rescues

Your staff captured the urgency, the intensity and the exhilaration of sea turtle rescues on Cape Cod (“Cold-stunned turtles wash up by the dozens,” Nov. 25).

Thanks to these extraordinary efforts, more than 1,000 critically endangered sea turtles have been recovered from stormy bayside beaches and given a second chance to live. Because they have already cleared most lethal challenges to survival as eggs and hatchlings, saving these juvenile turtles to return them to the wild pays huge conservation dividends. Your article will result in increased awareness that will save even more endangered sea turtles this year.

But after exciting beach rescues comes the real heavy lifting: emergency medical care and long-term rehab. That’s why Kerry and Russ Barton are such real heroes in this story. Their winning auction bid at the NMLC’s Mermaid Ball for an escorted turtle patrol went toward building a critically needed marine animal hospital for Cape Cod, a recognized global stranding hot spot. Thanks to the Bartons and supporters like them, that hospital will open its doors this coming year in Buzzards Bay, creating a local “life raft” for stranded and injured sea creatures.

Don Lewis

Trustee

National Marine Life Center

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