Newsletter No. 253, March 2023 ~ Grupo Ecológico
Hola Volunteers and Supporters ~
As expected, throughout the winter months some adult turtles will place their nests along the beach, and hundreds of hatchlings will eventually make their way to the sea. The month of March feels like the end of winter, nights are colder and not friendly to turtle eggs or hatchlings. The incubation period is much longer during winter, and we do not use the box nursery during this time of year. But many hatchlings will be able to endure this more difficult season. We will do our best to stop poachers, help hatchlings make their way to the sea, and do what we can to minimize light along the beach. This is about all we can do to help during the cold months, especially since we are focused now on maintenance of the nursery, vehicles and around the turtle camp. In May we will begin again to relocate nests to safer locations while also helping hatchlings journey to the sea.
March volunteers: Jessica Hiller, Steve Raschke, Elvia Garcia, Taylor Kimbell, Rick Burke and Susan Stephens, Karen Sorum and Hallie Loveridge, and Nick Sanders. We are still in search of at least 11 more good volunteers to join us this coming 2023 nesting season. If interested, join us through our Volunteer Page, and please spread the word about our volunteering opportunity. This summer we have the pleasure of enlisting Cheryl Jones and family again. Cheryl was one of our first volunteers 24 years ago. And Nick Sanders, who is here now, first started with us 15 years ago.
Weather-wise: March temperatures during the day were in the mid to high 70’s° to very low 80s°, while nighttime temps were in the low to mid 60’s°. Over the past three months we received .02 inches of rain, and the hills surrounding San Pancho look dry. As mentioned before the Atmospheric River from the north still occasionally sends large waves our direction. Except for two recent episodes of very high waves, the overall weather has been very pleasant.
We are extremely appreciative to have received donations from: Susan Stephens, Jennifer Nelsen, Mary Jane Schumacher. Mary Tesluk, Lynda Gilman, Caren Elkan, Brian Culligan, Matt Goten, Linda Fisher, Tari Neill and Patricia Schmidt. At this point donations make up most of our funding. Without your help our work would be nearly impossible.
Our financial reserves are still far below normal due to this season's increase in our cost of leasing the apartments, our purchase of the Can-Am 4x4, and because we are still trying to recover our finances from the significant loss in donations during the pandemic. Please help if you can by contributing at our PayPal site.
Town and country-wise: Circo de los Niños "Te Amo" was packed with hundreds over attendees over four evenings of performances. The Circo is an outstanding organization that provides life learning experiences for many of the community youth. Their skillful acrobatics captivated everyone. On Wednesday the 29th EntreAmigos hosted their annual Eco-Fair at Plaza de Sol where at least fifty plus environmental booths were set up to receive well over a thousand spectators, mostly school children from San Pancho and neighboring towns.
The new highway is open; from the toll booth near Bucerias to Lo de Marco and back to San Pancho took us only 40 minutes at 100 KPH. The cost was expensive at 225 pesos, but it was worth the trip. The driving was easy and the view was beautiful. On another note, due to the erratic waves pounding our shore, watch your step on the beach at night because there is an 8-foot vertical cliff running from the far north to near town. This makes patrolling the beach more difficult, and the waves sometimes carve away the sand to expose a turtle nest.
The never-ending San Pancho water crisis will only get worse. As mentioned in earlier newsletters, my home town of Idyllwild California experienced a very serious water crisis many decades ago, but the town residents figured out how to resolve the problem. First, the water department stopped issuing new water meters. If you wanted a water meter you had to purchase a used one from someone else. This helped reduce unnecessary growth and development, and kept water use at a sustainable level. But then the town went one step further. They forced the local business leaders to pitch in and help solve the shortage. The incentive for business leaders was that if a water shortage became serious again, the town would shut off the water to all restaurants, hotels, and condominiums. So, if the business leaders didn't help, they'd lose their water. Idyllwild never had another serious water shortage since they made those changes.
If San Pancho could enforce a rule like that, maybe our water situation would quickly improve.
Frank Smith, Director
Elvia Garcia, Secretary
Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde, A.C.
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.project-tortuga.org
Facebook page: San Pancho Marine Turtle Project
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projecttortugasanpancho
Tel. 311 258 4100
As expected, throughout the winter months some adult turtles will place their nests along the beach, and hundreds of hatchlings will eventually make their way to the sea. The month of March feels like the end of winter, nights are colder and not friendly to turtle eggs or hatchlings. The incubation period is much longer during winter, and we do not use the box nursery during this time of year. But many hatchlings will be able to endure this more difficult season. We will do our best to stop poachers, help hatchlings make their way to the sea, and do what we can to minimize light along the beach. This is about all we can do to help during the cold months, especially since we are focused now on maintenance of the nursery, vehicles and around the turtle camp. In May we will begin again to relocate nests to safer locations while also helping hatchlings journey to the sea.
March volunteers: Jessica Hiller, Steve Raschke, Elvia Garcia, Taylor Kimbell, Rick Burke and Susan Stephens, Karen Sorum and Hallie Loveridge, and Nick Sanders. We are still in search of at least 11 more good volunteers to join us this coming 2023 nesting season. If interested, join us through our Volunteer Page, and please spread the word about our volunteering opportunity. This summer we have the pleasure of enlisting Cheryl Jones and family again. Cheryl was one of our first volunteers 24 years ago. And Nick Sanders, who is here now, first started with us 15 years ago.
Weather-wise: March temperatures during the day were in the mid to high 70’s° to very low 80s°, while nighttime temps were in the low to mid 60’s°. Over the past three months we received .02 inches of rain, and the hills surrounding San Pancho look dry. As mentioned before the Atmospheric River from the north still occasionally sends large waves our direction. Except for two recent episodes of very high waves, the overall weather has been very pleasant.
We are extremely appreciative to have received donations from: Susan Stephens, Jennifer Nelsen, Mary Jane Schumacher. Mary Tesluk, Lynda Gilman, Caren Elkan, Brian Culligan, Matt Goten, Linda Fisher, Tari Neill and Patricia Schmidt. At this point donations make up most of our funding. Without your help our work would be nearly impossible.
Our financial reserves are still far below normal due to this season's increase in our cost of leasing the apartments, our purchase of the Can-Am 4x4, and because we are still trying to recover our finances from the significant loss in donations during the pandemic. Please help if you can by contributing at our PayPal site.
Town and country-wise: Circo de los Niños "Te Amo" was packed with hundreds over attendees over four evenings of performances. The Circo is an outstanding organization that provides life learning experiences for many of the community youth. Their skillful acrobatics captivated everyone. On Wednesday the 29th EntreAmigos hosted their annual Eco-Fair at Plaza de Sol where at least fifty plus environmental booths were set up to receive well over a thousand spectators, mostly school children from San Pancho and neighboring towns.
The new highway is open; from the toll booth near Bucerias to Lo de Marco and back to San Pancho took us only 40 minutes at 100 KPH. The cost was expensive at 225 pesos, but it was worth the trip. The driving was easy and the view was beautiful. On another note, due to the erratic waves pounding our shore, watch your step on the beach at night because there is an 8-foot vertical cliff running from the far north to near town. This makes patrolling the beach more difficult, and the waves sometimes carve away the sand to expose a turtle nest.
The never-ending San Pancho water crisis will only get worse. As mentioned in earlier newsletters, my home town of Idyllwild California experienced a very serious water crisis many decades ago, but the town residents figured out how to resolve the problem. First, the water department stopped issuing new water meters. If you wanted a water meter you had to purchase a used one from someone else. This helped reduce unnecessary growth and development, and kept water use at a sustainable level. But then the town went one step further. They forced the local business leaders to pitch in and help solve the shortage. The incentive for business leaders was that if a water shortage became serious again, the town would shut off the water to all restaurants, hotels, and condominiums. So, if the business leaders didn't help, they'd lose their water. Idyllwild never had another serious water shortage since they made those changes.
If San Pancho could enforce a rule like that, maybe our water situation would quickly improve.
Frank Smith, Director
Elvia Garcia, Secretary
Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde, A.C.
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.project-tortuga.org
Facebook page: San Pancho Marine Turtle Project
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projecttortugasanpancho
Tel. 311 258 4100
Wednesday the 29th EntreAmigos hosted their annual Eco-Fair at Plaza de Sol
Circo de los Niños "Te Amo" was packed with hundreds over attendees over four evenings of performances
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Grupo Ecologico de la Costa Verde
102 America Latina, San Pancho, Nayarit, Mexico Tel: 311-258-4100 Email: [email protected] [email protected] |