We’re wishing you a warm World Hello Day ☀️ from the clear waters of Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge! Photographer Heather Bautista sailed over to Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge in the Virgin Islands to find crystal clear water teeming with graceful sea turtles. “I was in heaven. I was keeping a respectful distance watching them feed on the grass below when this particular turtle surprised me by coming up for air right next to me. A moment I will never forget!” Clear water and clear communication definitely make the world a better and more peaceful place, make time to surface to say hello! Photo by Heather Bautista (www.sharetheexperience.org).

May is an exciting time at Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Loggerhead sea turtles are coming ashore to nest. A female sea turtle lays an average of more than 100 eggs in each nest. If the nest is left undisturbed, the eggs will hatch around 60 days later and the hatchlings will race to the sea before they become snacks for hungry predators. Wildlife is not the only threat to the hatchlings. Human activity can destroy nests and distract hatchlings. Please help protect sea turtles by keeping beaches clean and limiting your use of lighting near nests. Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Happy World Sea Turtle Day! 🐢

On public lands across the country, we are working to protect turtle habitat, monitor turtle nests and ensure hatchlings make it to the ocean. At Dry Tortugas National Park – the most active turtle nesting site in the Florida Keys – park biologists have been monitoring sea turtle nesting activity within the park since 1980. Learn more about different types of turtles found on public lands: https://on.doi.gov/2rTZ7gf

Sea turtle hatchlings at Dry Tortugas by National Park Service.  

It’s World Sea Turtle Day – a perfect chance to share this video of a baby sea turtle release. This release of Kemp’s ridley hatchings from Padre Island National Seashore in Texas is just one example of how the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are aiding the recovery of these magnificent animals. Sea turtles can live for decades and swim thousands of miles in their lifetimes. Kemp’s ridley are small, but leatherback turtles can weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. Video by National Park Service.

March is the start of Florida’s sea turtle nesting season. 🐢  Female sea turtles leave the ocean to dig nests and lay golf ball-size eggs in the sand. Visiting a Florida beach? Do your part to help sea turtles – leave the beach as natural as possible by removing beach furniture and other obstacles before sunset each day. Photo of Loggerhead hatchlings by Tonya Long, Florida Fish and Wildlife.

Go 🐢 go! Watch these cute sea turtle hatchlings race to the ocean at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas. Padre Island – the longest stretch of an undeveloped barrier island in the world – protects 70 miles of coastline, dunes, prairies and wind tidal flats. It’s a safe nesting ground for the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle, one of five types of sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico that use the park and its surrounding waters. Video Patrick Gamman, by National Park Service.

It’s World Turtle Day! From a tiny baby bog turtle to a massive leatherback, turtles come in many shapes and sizes. Found gliding through the open ocean or slowly trudging over desert plains, they are fascinating creatures. Because of environmental threats, several species are endangered and need our help. Video of a baby turtle running for the surf by Dry Tortugas National Park.

Need a break from the snow and cold weather hitting much of the U.S.? Take the chill off of winter and escape to six of America’s beautiful (and warm) public lands: http://on.doi.gov/1QFtX22

You won’t even have to leave the country to visit to these amazing tropical getaways. 🌴🌊🏄

This morning Padre Island National Seashore released 90 Kemp’s ridley baby sea turtles. Since the begin of July, the seashore has released 700-800 sea turtle hatchlings into the ocean. For more photos and video of baby turtles, follow us on Snapchat at usinterior. 🐢🐢 Photo by National Park Service.

It’s World Turtle Day – a day that spotlights turtles and tortoises and how we can protect them. 

Kara Wall snapped this cute pic of two baby sea turtles snuggling at Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida. Five different types of sea turtles are found in the waters of south Florida, and the park is famous for the abundance of sea turtles that annually nest in the area. But remember, no matter how cute the turtles are, visitors are not allowed to disturb sea turtles or their nests. Photo from www.sharetheexperience.org.