Keeping sea turtles safe by using new lights on Fort Myers Beach

Author: Paul Dolan Writer: Elyssa Morataya, Nicholas Karsen
Published: Updated:
Sea turtles
New street lights to be installed on Fort Myers Beach. Credit: WINK News

Turtle friendly: that is how Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt described new lights near the beach.

These lights are part of what he calls “Fort Myers Beach’s renaissance.”

“We’ve got housing starts and new businesses booming on Fort Myers Beach,” said Atterholt. “You combine that with the new street lighting, and you’ll see Fort Myers Beach on the move again. It’s like we’re going through a renaissance.”

Fort Myers Beach is turning on the lights and keeping turtles safe at the same time.

Seven hundred new lights will line Estero Boulevard. It’s all part of an $8 million project.

“The project is starting this month,” said Atterholt. “We’ll be done in about a year, and there will be new street lights for Estero Boulevard and the side streets. It’s quite transformational.”

It’s part of a Hurricane Ian grant, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approves of the design and says the upgrades are sea turtle-friendly.

Florida Power and Light will handle the project and expects all the lights to be operational within the next 15 months.

According to the FWC, the three biggest factors for turtle-friendly lights are as follows:

  • Keeping light fixtures low
  • Use lights with long wavelengths – like amber lighting
  • And keeping the lights shielded directly from the beach

FPL has provided the following statement on the project:

We recognize that Fort Myers Beach continues to recover and rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. It’s why we are so pleased to be on the verge of kicking off the Estero Boulevard lighting project in Fort Myers Beach, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks. The project includes the installation of 700 streetlights, approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for their turtle-friendly design. We expect to finish the project within the next 15 months, illuminating Estero Blvd., side streets and Old San Carlos Blvd. Troy Rice, President, FPL Energy Services

The lights will be installed during the heart of sea turtle nesting season.

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