Saturday, November 14, 2026
Code Enforcement Officer Ira Warder with Bernie Deubel, President of Marco Association of Condominiums, at the March Presentation on Sea Turtles.
Kathryn Grigsby, Marco’s Environmental Planner, addressing Environmental Regulations before members of the Marco Condominium Association (MAC).
Sea Turtle nest posting. A yellow ribbon with the word caution is placed around the stakes with Sea Turtle Nest signage. Please stay a minimum of 25 feet away from any posted sea turtle nest sign.
Holes can be deadly to sea turtles and humans. Deep holes with steep sides with unstable sand can easily collapse on sea turtles and small children so fill in those holes!
Marco’s Sea Turtle Team, Code Enforcement Officer Ira Warder and Kathryn Grigsby, Environmental Planner, were invited for a presentation to the Marco Association of Condominiums.
The Sea Turtle team finishes assembling the interactive panel. This Traveling Interactive Light Display will be availble at the Sea Turtle Open House to educate residents and visitors about sea turtle lighting.
Clear the beach from man made obstructions, such as beach chairs and tents by 9:00 PM. Sea turtles can get stuck underneath a beach chair, causing irreparable damage.
On March 12, 2024, the City’s Sea turtle lighting enforcement outreach and education team was invited to present at the Marco Association of Condominiums (MAC) March meeting. Their PowerPoint presentation focused on best practices relating to sea turtle compliance and enforcement.
Kathryn Grigsby, Marco’s Environmental Planner, and Code Enforcement Officer Ira Warder discussed how night patrols are conducted, what constitutes a lighting or beach obstruction violation, and how to stay in compliance. Ms. Grigsby also discussed the environmental aspects of sea turtle lighting.
Sea Turtle Nesting Season officially starts on May 1st and runs through October 31st. According to Maura C. Kraus, Environmental Supervisor for Collier County, Leatherbacks lay eggs on the east coast of Florida, typically starting in March, but they had a few early ones in late February. But there are no reports of nesting on the west coast yet. In 2023, the first nest was laid on May 6, 2023, and the last was laid on August 12, 2023, according to Ms. Kraus.
You are all invited to Sea Turtle Open House: On April 17th, 2024, Marco Island’s Code Enforcement along with the Growth Management Department, will be hosting a sea turtle open house at the Marco Island Police Department from 5:00 to 7:00 PM.
There will be expert guest speakers from Collier County as well as the Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) and a chance to meet the season’s sea turtle surveyors. According to Warder, focus will be on conservation, discussing and sharing amazing information about sea turtle nesting as well as FWC’s enforcement process. Both Warder and Grigsby will also be presenting on their role in the 2024 sea turtle nesting season.
A Traveling Interactive Light Display courtesy of the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) will be ready for viewing at the Sea Turtle Open House. The display will be in Marco for two months to educate residents and visitors about sea turtle lighting. Each side of the display explains one of the three golden rules of turtle-friendly lighting and contains examples of real sea turtle friendly fixtures. The display comes with a TV screen equipped with an interactive video for visitors to watch.
One in a thousand sea turtle hatchlings survive to adulthood, according to sea turtle experts. Here are tips on how we can help increase their odds of survival. Some of these key points will be addressed at the Sea Turtle Open House on April 17th.
According to the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC), an adult nesting loggerhead is typically 2.5 to 3.5 feet in carapace length and weighs between 155 to 375 pounds. Upon hatching, they measure about 4.6 cm (1.8 in) and weigh about 20g (0.7-oz). Just imagine an adult sea turtle coming ashore on Marco’s beach and falling into one of these deep holes. And hatchlings on their way to the ocean falling into an unfilled hole.
Just ask any Marco Island Code Enforcement Officer on Beach Patrol, and they can confirm that holes are increasingly common. They carry shovels and rakes on the back of their patrol trucks. When you get a hole three or four feet with steep sides, an adult loggerhead can’t make it out.
According to sea turtle experts, “if an artificial light source on the beach is brighter than the natural light of the ocean horizon, hatchlings will head towards the artificial source, a process known as disorientation.”
According to Code Enforcement Officer Ira Warder, there are 38 beach-facing condo buildings on Marco’s main beach and six condos in Hideaway Beach. Lighting violations can cause false crawls and disorientation.
Sea Turtle Tips
Close blinds & curtains by 9:00 PM.
Turn off outdoor wall, ceiling and balcony lighting by 9:00 PM.
Cell phone lights, flash photography, lanterns and flashlights are prohibited on the beach after 9:00 PM.
Important Contacts
Report dead or injured sea turtles and disoriented hatchlings:
FWC: 1-888-404-3922
Report unmarked or damaged sea turtle nests:
Collier County Sea Turtle Protection: 239-252-2952
Report Lighting violations and other non-compliance issues:
Code Enforcement: 239-389-5050
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