Banderas Bay Marine Turtle Updates From Grupo Ecologico Frank Smith - Grupo Ecologico de la Costa Verde
May 3, 2022

When I first arrived in San Pancho in the early nineties, I remember hearing an incredible story told by a women that was in her late nineties, and had lived in San Pancho all her life. As a young child around the turn of the century she recalls an adventure, a game that her and her other young friends played with the marine turtle. The game was a challenge that started in front of town, and was a contest to see who could go the farthest by jumping from turtle back to turtle back in the direction to the north end of the beach without touching sand. I believe it was a true story.

In May we plan to start patrolling the beach at various times. Because of cold nights we will not be able to utilize the box nursery until around July 15th. Until then all nests found will relocated along the beach in safer and darker areas.

Former volunteers, if you have any interesting photographs or videos that we can post on our Facebook page, send them to either Jessica Schmidt or to me, and we will share them on our Facebook page with others.

Purchasing the Can-am was a necessary step forward, especially in light of the fact that our 55 year old dune buggy’s is on its last legs. The purchase set us back financially, especially when you take into account that most all our other means of raising income have been blocked due to the pandemic. If you can go to our PayPal account and donate, it will help us a lot.

If you see a turtle nesting on the beach please call us at 311-258-4100 and we will relocate the nest to a safer location. If the turtle tracks have returned to the sea, you can helps us by erasing the fresh tracks and the nest sites making it nearly impossible for poachers to find the eggs.

Weather-wise: Temperatures during the day were in the high 70’s to low 80°, while nighttime temps were in the high 60’s°. Again, mostly sunny, warm days. No rain in April, and for the year the rainfall came to .02 inches. Relative to historical numbers, that amount is low for this time of year.

In 1999 a water/sewage study was conducted in our region by a well-qualified company from the State of Washington. I recently saw a copy of the report, which contains an in-depth study of conditions from Lo de Marcos south to La Cruz, including San Pancho right in the middle. The report clearly warns that our watershed contains very limited water. As I watch increasing development around town, from what the report says a serious water shortage could be in our future.

Related: Celebrate World Turtle Day at Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit (allevents.in)

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