I went down to the Barrier Island Conservation Center for the Archie Carr Working Group meeting yesterday, got us a seat on that group. Many of our South Beaches breaks are in the refuge. This area has set aside some of the nicest coastline (with the highest density of turtle nesting) in south Brevard and northern Indian River counties.

The group is made up of the government agencies that run or have input into the management of the refuge, as well as conservation groups and researchers. Surfrider Foundation is there to represent the interests of  surfers as stakeholders. The news is very positive, the refuge management recognizes surfers as a user group and we were well-received at the meeting.

I brought up the subject of trying to open a new access or two, some of the areas that were historically used have been closed off. These would probably on county lands within the refuge. The proper people (with the county) were in attendance, and I initiated discussions with them. Again, well-received and we'll continue to work with them to advance the ideas.

The National Wildlife Refuge and county lands (Brevard and Indian River) operate under separate formal management plans and legal mandates, so there are differences in what each can do.  It's very important for surfers to be recognized as stake holders, so your time was well-spent.  

I attended my second ACWG meeting this week. At the last meeting, it was reported that the loggerhead nesting was off to the earliest start on record, and that has led into a very strong season with over 15,000 nests reported within the refuge for that species. The trend line of decline in nesting from the 2001-2008 period appears to be reversed.

Green turtles are setting records the last few years; there were ~5500 nests last year. There is a distinct pattern of ''every other year'' for their #s, there is a big year followed by an intermediate year for 20+ years of data. This is an ''inter'' year following last year's huge #, but still they're on pace for ~3000 nests which would have been a record not so long ago.

It looks like there will be a sub-group formed to look at opening some of those old accesses. I will make sure we're included. The county person who would probably lead that group was not in attendance, so the matter was tabled. Unfortunately, the behavior of some of the users of present accesses have made opening new ones a tough sell. The popularity of do-it-yourself turtle walks has increased all-night activity through these spots, not always by considerate people. It only takes a few bad apples..... I would emphasize that surfers are probably the lowest impact of all users in the refuge.

Our continued surfing access at Spanish House is assured. I have to profusely thank the people at US Fish and Wildlife for their continued recognition and support of our right to use this historic trail. Someday we'll get the land swap accomplished to get the trail into the Inlet State Park; but no worries in the meantime.