San Pancho and Turtle News from Costa Verde Ecological Group Frank D. Smith - Costa Verde Ecological Group | |
November 4, 2017 |
Hola Volunteers, Supporters and Readers ~
At the end of the season just as we were looking forward to some rest, we received over 95 nests in six days, a record for mid-October. In any case, to date we have recorded over 875 nests this season, 218 for the month of October. 686 nests were placed in the box nursery, and over 128 nests were left on the beach for their protection, 28 nests were washed out by heavy surf, while 33 were taken by the bottom-feeding poachers. By the end of October over 30,110 hatchlings had been released to the sea.
Part-time volunteers for October: Manuel Murrieta, Julio Gonzales and America, Juan Flores. Full-time: Lisa Fisher, Zac Wilson, Murray McKay, Lois Barton, Karen Sorum and Hallie Loveridge, Keely Mitchell, Andrew Boyle and Léan Kieran, and Brenda Parra. Gale and Lorren arrived on the 31st.
About four months ago, I received an email notice that our “CGI Email was disabled” by our hosting service. At that point, we were unable to receive any applications or web mail. When I called my hosting service for help, they said to call C-panel. C-panel said to get a professional to help us. Sure. Where am I to find professional around here? The fix is in the “Cron Email” within my C-panel but it is so complicated I can’t begin to correct the problem alone. If there is anyone out there who can help, please, me let me know.
Another thing to cry about: In 1992, there were over fourteen different ways to easily reach the beach from town. Today, there are only two and both are behind locked gates. On the bright-side, there are very few quad runners on the beach today.
More to cry about: The light problem along the beach is out-of-control. It is becoming impossible to find a dark spot on the beach to release hatchlings. It’s apparent that few homeowners read our newsletter or don’t care enough to help. Why do we have the problem in the first place when it is so easy for homeowners and businesses to correct the problem?
If you install amber lights and shield the light bulbs from the beach, the problem will be solved. If not, each morning in the future there may be several hundred hatchlings that have died from heat exposure by your walls, in your swimming pools and under your lights.
Thanks to Manuel’s help, after four years, the dune buggy finally has a working transmission that will shift into reverse.
Weather wise: Daytime temperatures were in the mid to high 80s°, night time in the mid to high 70s°. Rainfall for October was 2.75 inches, for the year 58.43 inches. There was no tropical storm activity or any other unusual weather events. The last new moon high tide teamed up with high waves to clean and smooth the entire beach. Throughout October, the weather had been exceptionally good with warm nights and little rain.
The state of Nayarit reported that there were 129 known cases of the Zika virus. That places Nayarit as the state with the highest incidence of this virus in Mexico.
According to the deputy director of epidemiology at Nayarit Health Services, of the 129 cases in the state, 102 are women and 27 are men. 40 of the 102 infected women are pregnant, representing 22% of all Nayarit cases. Most cases were found along the coast of Nayarit, such as the one confirmed case in Sayulita.
With the exception of pregnant women, Zika is generally no more debilitating than the dengue or chikungunya virus. However, Zika has been known to cause serious health problems in some individuals.
Frank D. Smith, Director
Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde, A.C.
Project Tortuga
Tel. 311-258-4100
We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!
From activities like hiking, swimming, bike riding and yoga, to restaurants offering healthy menus, Vallarta-Nayarit is the ideal place to continue - or start - your healthy lifestyle routine.