Colette Boehm of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in Orange Beach has received an award for her conservation work with sea turtles with the Share the Beach program from the regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I felt very honored and also excited that our programs were being recognized,” Boehm said. “And it’s humbling because there are so many people who have made programs like our Share the Beach outreach effort work. The Fish & Wildlife staff, the State Lands Division of the Department of Conservation, the industry partners who’ve helped get the word out to our visitors, and most of all the Share the Beach volunteers have all made this program such a success.

“They all deserve the credit. I have been lucky enough to be the coordinator of some efforts that so many other people actually do the day-to-day work on. This is one of those.”

By the late 1990s, sea turtle reproduction had nearly come to an end in the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

The rapidly developing coast was taking its toll on sea turtle nesting, as nearly all hatchlings that emerged from nests on Alabama’s beaches became disoriented by artificial lighting and were killed by traffic, predators, or other causes before finding their way to the sea.

In 2001, Share the Beach was formed and this program has since ensured that more than 95% of all hatched turtles make it to the water.

Boehm and the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB have been instrumental in the success of this program from its inception, by educating the public about simple yet effective ways that they can help with sea turtle conservation.

“The Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) began a sustainable tourism initiative,” Boehm said of the program’s start. “We recognized that our natural resources are the foundation of this destination and we wanted to make sure our tourism industry partners and the visitors who come here understand that they play an important role in sustaining those resources.

“The Department of Conservation’s State Lands Coastal Section suggested a partnership to produce outreach materials offering a sustainability message and supporting the efforts of new organizations like Share the Beach. From there, the project has grown and included other partners such as Friends of the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program.”

Boehm has created and distributed tens of thousands of outreach materials such as brochures, magnets, and door hangers to condominiums and hotels throughout the Alabama Gulf coast.

“It is very exciting to see so many people wanting to get involved and responding to the sustainability message,” she said. “Our industry partners are doing a better job all the time of getting the word out to visitors. Seeing those visitors respond and want to be a part of protecting our sea turtles is so great.”

Boehm has also played a critical role in the development and maintenance of the Share the Beach website, which is the main source of information about Alabama’s sea turtles.

Boehm has successfully applied for sea turtle outreach grants that have resulted in savings of more than $30,000 for the Service.

With the assistance of Share the Beach partners such as Boehm, more than 20,000 sea turtle hatchlings have survived to reach the Gulf of Mexico since 2001.

For more information, visit www.alabamaseaturtles.com.