Editor’s note: The Islander will be publishing a series of articles about sea turtles and the nesting season, which concludes Oct. 31. Watch for this column throughout the summer, or for more information, log onto www.alabamaseaturtles.com or www.fws.gov/daphne.

One of the major threats to sea turtle nesting success on beaches in Alabama is artificial lighting.

Moonlight reflected over water is a visual clue steering the turtles to the sea after egg laying and hatching. Lights mounted on land, yet visible from the beach, mimic moonlight to a sea turtle.

Back in 2001, widespread reports of disoriented hatchlings compelled Jereme Phillips, manager at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, and Mike Reynolds, a concerned citizen, to team up to form the Share the Beach Program, of which Reynolds is now director.

This program, over 200 volunteers strong, and its partners from state, federal and local agencies; private citizens; and environmental organizations are key to the successful nesting of sea turtles in Alabama.

Along with labor-intensive sea turtle nesting patrols, safe-guarding of eggs, and escorting hatchlings to the sea by trained Share the Beach volunteers, efforts in achieving sea turtle-friendly lighting are moving forward in Alabama.

The city of Gulf Shores passed an outdoor lighting ordinance in 2006 that, in part, specifies lighting requirements within a designated marine turtle conservation zone encompassing important sea turtle areas within in their jurisdiction.

The city of Orange Beach is currently drafting a similar directive for their areas. Also, last fall, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners conducted a workshop teaching business owners and local homeowners about the effects of artificial lighting on beaches and describing what is known as sea turtle-friendly lighting.

The latest turtle-friendly lighting efforts will be unveiled this week at Gulf State Park. The opening ceremony for the Park’s newly constructed saltwater fishing pier will occur July 23 at 9 a.m. at the pier, located near State Park Road 2 and Highway 182.

In an effort to follow what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service calls the Golden Rules of Wildlife-Friendly Lighting, many of the lighting fixtures on the pier that are visible from the water or the beach and in the parking lot were selected for conformity to these rules: Keep it Low, Keep it Shielded, Keep it Long Wavelength.

To be deemed sea turtle friendly, all three rules must be met. Keep it Low means using a low intensity light source, such as a low pressure sodium light bulb, and the lowest mounting height that meets the needs of the application. Keep it Shielded means the light fixture is designed to direct the light downward where it is needed, not out or up. Keep it Long Wavelength means using amber or red-colored light bulbs. Turtles are attracted to short wavelength colors (white) and less disturbed by long wavelength colors (amber to red).

The lighting specifications for the pier were prepared by Thompson Engineering of Mobile, for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in collaboration with sea turtle lighting experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. LCI, Inc. and M&N of Alabama, LLC installed the fixtures as well as constructed the pier.

Several of the fixtures have not been field-tested, but have turtle-friendly features; the group is looking forward to testing these on the pier. In addition to wildlife-friendly light fixtures, visitors may notice a wooden fence on the south edge of the pier parking lot. This fence is designed to block vehicle headlights from reaching the beach, providing additional protection to sea turtles.

Dianne Ingram is an endangered species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alabama Ecological Services Field Office. She can be reached at dianne_ingram@fws.gov or 251-441-5839.