During 1997, the developer of Playa Las Tortugas began sponsoring an environmental study performed by the Scientific Investigations Department of the University of Nayarit, which concluded in March 1998. The study, amongst other things, has served as the base document of an urban development plan for our zone called “The Program of Urban Development of the Locality of Platanitos, Municipality of Compostela, Nayarit.

Urban Plan Voted into Law

This urban development plan was sponsored by the developer of Playa Las Tortugas in conjunction with the municipal and state public works offices and voted into law at the municipal level on November 26, 2004. Then on April 13, 2005 it was published at state level in the Official Periodical of the Government of the State of Nayarit. Copies of this development law are available from the state office of the “Periodico Oficial” in the capital of Tepic, Nayarit.

Area Addressed by the Plan

The area addressed by the plan is about 1783 hectares, or 4582 acres. Regulated by the plan are some 5 kilometers of coastline with over 3 kilometers being turtle nesting habitat, and approximately 1000 hectares (2570 acres) of mangrove estuary and tropical forest.

More Responsible Growth

The urban plan serves more responsible growth by limiting construction density on the 4 kilometers of beach where Playa Las Tortugas and the turtle nesting habitat is located (the palm groves). The plan also limits the height of buildings to three stories in this section of beach to keep them below the levels of the palms. The limitation on building height helps maintain a lower population density and more natural appearance, along with keeping light levels down in the turtle nesting habitat. The plan provides for green spaces, and an additional setback from the federal beach zone for the protection of the turtle nesting habitat.

On the 4th of July, 2002 the “Escuela Telesecundaria” (secondary school with classes mainly given via television) of Otates y Cantarranas celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2002. There were a total of 14 graduates, including eight girls and six boys, completing the equivalent of what we might call junior high school in the United States.

Of the 14 graduates, only six (all girls) went on to the next level called “preparatory school,” equivalent to senior high school in the U.S. The boys had gone in search of work, having reached the age of 14 or 15 years and under pressure from their families and peers to help with the cost of maintaining the family. Some went to work as helpers for their fathers as brick and stone masons, while others work mostly as field and ranch hands earning possibly $150 pesos per day with typically no health or other benefits. To the best of our knowledge, only three students from the previous graduating class of 2001 had continued their studies.

Many families in Otates y Cantarranas subsist on an income of some $900 to $1000 pesos per week, slightly less than $400 USD per month or $4800 USD per year. Since there is no preparatory school (senior high school) in Otates, any student who wishes to continue his or her education must attend a school no closer than some five miles away. The family has to pay for transportation and meals away from home for the student, as the school system does not. This can place a back-breaking burden on the family, as costs of transportation and meals alone for one student range between $150 and $250 pesos per week, equaling possibly 25% to 30% or more of a household income.

With a desire to further education and opportunities for the people of Otates, on May 18th, 2003 the Developer of Playa Las Tortugas, in conjunction with Playa Las Tortugas property owners, embarked on a program to help send more students from Otates to further their education. Initially, the idea was to try and fund all of the costs of a student such as school uniforms, tuition, transportation, lunch, books, and supplies. Over time it became apparent that more students could be helped to continue their education by subsidizing just the cost of transportation and lunch. This new approach also helped assure that the students (and their families) who were really interested in continuing their education were the students we would subsidize.

The grant program started providing the amount of $140 pesos weekly to nine students: eight girls and one boy. By August 24th, 2003, the program was helping 12 students attend classes, and in January of 2004 we had 13 students enrolled in three different “preparatory schools” including agricultural, general studies, and technical classes.

During 2004, one of our students began attending the University of Nayarit. Since 2004 we have maintained from nine to twelve students and today two of those students are attending the University of Nayarit.

As of July 2006, participants of the grant program had donated some $18,000 USD over the course of about two and one half years.

The basic cost of providing transportation for one student throughout a year of school is about $760 USD, so our goal is to raise at least $9,120 USD for 2007.  To qualify to receive funding each student is required to provide a copy of their current enrollment letter from the school, a copy of their grade reports each quarter or semester as issued, and maintain at least a GPA of 8.0 (equal to approximately a “B” average in the U.S.).

In order to reach the goal of helping 12 students further their education, during 2007 the developer of Playa Las Tortugas is sharing in 35% of the cost of each student grant up to the 12 students. This means that for each $494 USD donated, the developer will match it with $266 USD to complete funding for one student.

A number of the Playa Las Tortugas owners are participating during 2007 with a donation of at least $494 USD, and we hope to see others from nearby “touristic” developments help the kids in our neighboring community to receive a better education.

A special thanks goes out to Robert Norton, Michael and Pat McDonnell, Dave and Cheri Werbeck, Mark and Carol Shaff, Bob and Jann Lobb, Brad and Michelle Hoover, Rob Hancock and Karen Nelson, who all are sponsoring at least one student during 2007.

Platanitos (at Playa Las Tortugas)
Turtle Camp Volunteer Program Donations 2008

 
Volunteers can generally be categorized in two classes which are short-term and long-term:

Short-term volunteers are persons who come for one to six nights and participate for typically 1 or 2 hours up to possibly 4 or 5 hours per night. Short-term volunteers may be local visitors or local students, tourism guests at Playa Las Tortugas, or other tourism guests who have an interest in volunteering.

Long-term volunteers are those who come and stay one or more weeks and work at least 8 hours of each 24 hours in turtle camp conservation activities.

Short-term volunteers can require the same number of hours of training, education, or guidance as long-term volunteers. In order to allow the camp staff and long-term volunteers to spend more hours in actual conservation and protection work, a seasonal full-time volunteer coordinator is employed by the camp to help insure all volunteers receive the attention and education necessary to make their volunteer experience worthwhile and enjoyable.

The seasonal full-time volunteer coordinator also helps camp staff with other camp duties when volunteers were not present.

To help pay the cost of volunteer coordinator and provide other essential funding for the turtle camp, during 2008 every turtle camp visitor or volunteer, whether short or long term, will be asked to donate a small daily fee. Long-term volunteers will be asked donate a minimum of $45 pesos/day (about $4.25 USD) and short-term volunteers a minimum of $75 pesos/day (about $7.00 USD). These donations will in part be used to fund the cost of the volunteer coordinator and utilities for the camp, while $20 pesos/day of the amount (about $2.00 USD) will be deposited to a federal conservation fund of which 85% comes back directly to the turtle camp to pay for supplies and equipment.

The donations must be collected in cash or check, so we appreciate visitors and volunteers being prepared to do so …. and thank you for your understanding and support.
 
Please send other donations to one of these addresses:
 
“PLATANITOS SEA TURTLE CAMP”
c/o ROBERT HANCOCK, SUITE 210
BLVD. FCO. MEDINA ASECENCIO 2180, LOCAL 7, NO. 210
PUERTO VALLARTA, JALISCO, C.P. 43819 MEXICO

or

ROBERT HANCOCK
PLAYA LAS TORTUGAS
827 UNION PACIFIC, #78-210
LAREDO, TX 78045-9452
 
Please make checks or money orders payable to “ROBERT HANCOCK”. These funds go 100% for hard costs of operating the Camp. Thanks again for your help.
 
You can contact Robert directly to arrange to visit the Turtle Camp personally or discuss donations.
 

The Sea Turtle Call for Help

[written by Jan Walbrecker, Volunteer]
 
The Pacific. Home to hundreds of thousands of different animals, and the home of us, the big turtles. We, the turtle-mothers, have brought to life our babies on the same special beaches for untold generations. So we travel a long way to find those rare places, often thousands of miles from our feeding grounds. One of our beaches is in the State of Nayarit, Mexico.
 
There we arrive crawling with the utmost of the effort up the sand with our flippers. Just we, the mother turtles, ever leave the water once we enter it after hatching. It is only through incredibly exhausting work that we dig our nests to place our eggs in, while exposing ourselves to the many dangers of the open beach. But that is just the beginning of the dangers for our babies. There are plenty of them. Four-legged animals very much like our eggs for dinner, but they are not the biggest problem. In fact it is the humans. Many of them walk on the beach at night to find our nests and steal our babies to sell them at markets. As there are not many of us, our species is doomed to not survive very long without help.
 
But luckily now there is a small organization of humans who makes its task to preserve our race. This organization consists of just a handful of dedicated men and women strengthened by volunteers who patrol the beach the whole night to guard our nests and turn the thieves away. They collect our eggs and put them in their hatchery. But they have not enough resources to buy the things they need to patrol the many miles of our beach effectively and in consequence still many of our babies perish. So we need the help of other humans who are interested in nature and the environment who can support this small organization so that they can help us bring to life our babies. Please help us.

The most important Camp goal is to increase the number of nests harvested each year while maintaining a high rate of incubation, thereby helping to replenish the sea turtle population.

To accomplish this goal, the Turtle Camp needs funds for food and operating provisions for two to three full-time Camp workers; day-to-day expenses; repairs and maintenance; and fuel and parts for the ATV’s patrolling the beach. There is always a dire need of a new ATV four-wheeler to replace another unit that has seen many nights of hard service and corrosion from constant exposure to the salt water environment. ATV’s have a relatively short life span due to salt-water conditions and the number of hours of use each nesting season.

Positive Conservation Effort Results

As shown by results over the last 11 years, the Turtle Camp is having a positive influence on the sea turtle population, and with your help the results can get even better.


Please note that there are nesting cycles which seem to span several years and therefore results typically rise over a period of years and not necessarily annually; also, results can be affected by the funding available in certain years.

The overall rate of incubation for the 11 year period from 1995 to 2005 is 78%!!

Long-Range Goal

Our long-range goal is to have the Camp staffed year-round. While sea turtle conservation is currently the principal concern, having a full staff year-round would allow the Camp to work on added preservation projects such as protection of waterfowl and other inhabitants of the adjacent mangrove-filled estuary during the months when turtles are not nesting. We would like to see the Camp become a self-sustaining center for wildlife conservation, education and investigation, particularly regarding the marine turtle; with adequate fiscal and human resources to protect the surrounding natural resources via a network of volunteer, educational, and ecotourism programs.

Other Camp Goals

Other Camp goals include to enhance the technical sea turtle programs. To this end it need funds for: nest storage and monitoring equipment for the incubation areas; tagging equipment; and sponsorship of several volunteers to work in the Camp who can not pay their own costs. The University of Guadalajara and “Selva Negra” (a non-profit organization sponsored in part by the singing group “Mana") have both been helping with volunteers and “Selva Negra” also assists with some funding, food and supplies.

Reaching the Goals

To reach these goals the Camp seeks volunteers, and donations from individuals, companies, and foundations via the world wide web, mailings, and personal networking. Please help by becoming a volunteer or by making Donations to provision the Camp, sponsor a volunteer, or allow the Camp to purchase needed equipment.

Sea Turtle Program

The sea turtle program consists of: night-time Turtle Patrols of the first five miles of adjoining beach; collection of nests for incubation; liberation of hatchlings; monitoring of tides, weather, and moon phases; monitoring of nests used as a control group; the recording of numbers, measurements, and other data; and in the future tagging of adult turtles.

The object of Turtle Patrol is to locate turtle nests as soon as the eggs are laid, place the eggs in special incubation areas where they can be protected from predators including man, and help control temperature and humidity of the nesting area in order to achieve a significantly higher hatch rate. After hatching, the nests are cleaned and baby turtles are released at night, again to protect them from predators and from succumbing to hot sun and sand.

You can view, print, or download the results of the sea turtle protection program for 2006, along with a review of the past 7 years, by clicking on this link:

Turtle Camp Results 2006 English.pdf

Crocodile Program

The estuary is home to a species of crocodile mostly unique to Mexico, which does not have homo sapiens as part of its food chain but nevertheless has been hunted vigorously.

The crocodile program includes census of the crocodile population in the estuary, measurements and tagging, collection of nests and incubation, care of young in captivity until release, and establishment of nesting zones in the estuary and protection of these areas. Sections of the estuary may be closed to the public for the benefit of the crocodiles.

Future Programs

After the volunteer base becomes more consistent, the Camp hopes to begin accepting visits from ecotourists and students or professionals who will visit and or work in the Camp for educational purposes. The educational programs may include introductions to flora and fauna, university-driven programs for scientific investigation and thesis work, basic classes in Spanish for foreigners, and classes in Mexican culture and art.

The Turtle Camp’s home is an exceptional place. It lies between the beach and over 1100 acres of pristine salt-water tidal estuary on the north end of 11 miles of beach branded as “Costa Tortuga”.

Behind the Camp are channels and pools filled with mangroves, waterfowl and an enormous array of other flora and fauna. Along with species of sea turtle that nest on the beach, the estuary is nesting habitat for a large number of birds including many that migrate from the Rocky Mountain corridor. Just east of the estuary, semi-tropical forested hills begin rising to eventually give form to the Sierra Madre, home to native Indian tribes such as the Cora and colorful Huichol.

Non-Profit Organizations

Selva Negra (Black Forest), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the environment, is helping to fund operation the Platanitos Sea Turtle Camp along with the developer and homeowners of Playa Las Tortugas. Selva Negra was founded and is operated by the musical group Mana.

Turtle Camp Ecovolunteers

The Turtle Camp depends on donations and ecovolunteers to help it function. Volunteers from towns and cities like Guadalajara, Mexico, as well as international volunteers, help by donating their labor. The ecovolunteers pay their own expenses to cover meals and incidental costs.

Ecovolunteer Duties and their Environment

The Turtle Camp is a work in progress. It is made more successful by the help of volunteers, both international and national who donate their time and physical labor to help preserve the endangered sea turtles that come to nest at Costa Tortuga every year.

The primary volunteer duties are carried out at night when the sea turtles leave the ocean to lay their eggs and include patrolling the beach, even in stormy weather, collecting turtle eggs, and releasing hatchlings to the sea. By joining in this extraordinary event volunteers will realize that their help truly improves the odds of survival for these gentle creatures. In addition to working on turtle patrol the volunteers are expected to help with cooking and cleaning duties in the camp.

As the Turtle Camp is located away from city life, the living conditions are different from what many are accustomed to. The weather is subtropical in the summer and many insects are present. Utilities (i.e., running water and electricity) are basic and may be temporarily lost due to weather or mechanical failure.

While there is always a lot of work to be done, there is also time to relax and make new friends. The experience gained by each individual during their visit here will depend on their desire to enjoy life and to blend into the Mexican culture, but by keeping an open mind volunteers are sure see many benefits from their time in the Turtle Camp.

Platanitos (at Playa Las Tortugas)
Turtle Camp Volunteer Program 2008

 
Volunteers can generally be categorized in two classes which are short-term and long-term:

Short-term volunteers are persons who come for one to six nights and participate for typically 1 or 2 hours up to possibly 4 or 5 hours per night. Short-term volunteers may be local visitors or local students, tourism guests at Playa Las Tortugas, or other tourism guests who have an interest in volunteering.

Long-term volunteers are those who come and stay one or more weeks and work at least 8 hours of each 24 hours in turtle camp conservation activities.

Short-term volunteers can require the same number of hours of training, education, or guidance as long-term volunteers. In order to allow the camp staff and long-term volunteers to spend more hours in actual conservation and protection work, a seasonal full-time volunteer coordinator is employed by the camp to help insure all volunteers receive the attention and education necessary to make their volunteer experience worthwhile and enjoyable.

The seasonal full-time volunteer coordinator also helps camp staff with other camp duties when volunteers were not present.

To help pay the cost of volunteer coordinator and provide other essential funding for the turtle camp, during 2008 every turtle camp visitor or volunteer, whether short or long term, will be asked to donate a small daily fee. Long-term volunteers will be asked donate a minimum of $45 pesos/day (about $4.25 USD) and short-term volunteers a minimum of $75 pesos/day (about $7.00 USD). These donations will in part be used to fund the cost of the volunteer coordinator and utilities for the camp, while $20 pesos/day of the amount (about $2.00 USD) will be deposited to a federal conservation fund of which 85% comes back directly to the turtle camp to pay for supplies and equipment.

The donations must be collected in cash or check, so we appreciate visitors and volunteers being prepared to do so …. and thank you for your understanding and support.

Education is the key.

The Sea Turtle Conservation Camp is dedicated to educating especially the children—to teach them the importance not only of sea turtles but all creatures on our earth. The Camp staff, working on behalf of Mexico’s National Commission of Protected Areas, reaches out to the neighboring local schoolteachers and students and has already begun to to educate them on environmental issues. Volunteers and visitors to the Camp also have the opportunity to learn how they can help protect sea turtles.
 

Eco-tourism is one of the fastest growing aspects of the travel industry. The Turtle Camp offers the possibility to eco-tourists of learning about the work performed by the Camp, participating in patrol of the beach to gather nests, helping to prepare nests for release, and the release of hatchlings.
 
As the Camp grows, they plan to invite professionals to teach educational programs.

Information About Sea Turtles

Sea Turtles are vertebrates belonging to the Reptile class and Chelonidae family. They are policotherms and ectotherms, so their body activity is dependent on the ambient temperature, and so for this reason the turtles are distributed in tropical and subtropical waters of the world.
 
There are three species of sea turtle that nest on this beach, with the Olive Ridley being predominant.
 
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Spanish name: Tortuga Golfina
Latin Name: Lepidochelys Olivacea
Status: Endangered
Average Size: 66 cm long and 41 kg
Special Features: Most abundant of all sea turtles
Nesting Period: July to December

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

Life in the Sea

Sea turtles pass the majority of their life in the sea. Studies using satellite-tracking devices have demonstrated that on average a sea turtle remains 0.03 % of its life cycle on land for reproductive activities and the other 99.97 % of the time is spent in the sea. Of course, this is only the case for the females; the males never leave the sea. The majority of studies on the sea turtles, however, have centred on the time spent on the beach. Therefore, there is still little understood about the mechanisms of orientation and navigation in the open sea through which the Olive Ridley sea turtles return to the same beach on which they were born to nest, migrating 1000’s km between their feeding grounds to these nesting beaches.
 
There are several proposed mechanisms of orientation and navigation for the Olive Ridley sea turtles:

• Chemo sensitivity: The ability to detect very small concentrations of chemicals from the nesting beach in the water. Indeed this phenomenon has been demonstrated in the Green turtles (Chelonia mydas).
• Wave Sensitivity: The ability to utilize geo-magnetic fields of the Earth, distinguishing between maximum and minimum fields in the bottom of the ocean that occur in areas of dispersion of the marine plates. This idea is supported by the knowledge that nesting beaches are situated in areas of energy discharge and elevated magnetism.
• Genetics: Studies on the DNA of a population of Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) that nest exclusively on Ascension Island have shown homologies between the DNA of this population that are different to other colonies of Green sea turtles.
 
Feeding and Nutrition

Olive Ridley sea turtles are facultative carnivores. They will feed on whatever is available, and studies in Mexico assessing the stomach contents of these animals have demonstrated a varied diet of fish, jellyfish, crustaceans, molluscs, algae, fish eggs and marine maggots.
 
Reproduction

This species of sea turtle usually migrates along the continental platforms, feeding in shallow waters, and converging in the summer and autumn for nesting on beaches in tropical continents. Olive Ridley sea turtles reach sexual maturity at 7 to 9 years old, and approximately 60 % of the population nest annually, 29 % every 2 years and 11 % every 3 years, the frequency being affected by the amount of food available and the distance of migration between feeding and reproductive grounds.

At the start of the nesting period, the groups congregate and direct themselves towards their respective nesting beaches; initially the females arrive, shortly followed by the males. Sexual reproduction generally occurs near the nesting areas. The male embraces and holds the female strongly below him, utilizing his anterior fins and in moderation his posterior fins, his penis protrudes from his tail and is inserted into the female, and they remain in this way for 2 hours. One female can mate with many males before moving to the beach for egg laying.
 
Nesting

After mating the females move to the nesting beach to lay their eggs. The nesting of Olive Ridley sea turtles can be divided into the following phases.

1. Emergence
The sea turtles emerge from the water, encountering the beach, and search for a nesting site.
2. & 3. Excavation
Turtles dig a ditch in which the eggs will be laid. Initially, (stage 2.) all the fins are used to form the ditch, and in the final phases (stage 3.) the form and depth is achieved using the posterior fins in a manner of small shovels for digging and compacting the sand.

4. Egg Laying
Whilst egg laying, the turtles remain immobile and can be measured or marked and eggs can be collected by man. The eggs fall into the hole in groups of 2 or 3 eggs at regular intervals accompanied by protective mucus, which contains an active anti-bacterial agent. During this phase the anterior fins of the turtle are totally extended and the posterior fins are gracefully extended flanking the mouth of the nest. Each Olive Ridley sea turtle lays an average of 105 eggs per nest. Each egg is white, about 40 mm in diameter and 39 g in weight; they look very similar to table tennis balls.
5. Covering Up
After the egg laying is completed, the females commence to cover up the nest, introducing and compacting sand with its posterior fins and throwing at the same time sand with its anterior fins. Finally, the turtle compacts the whole nest with its whole body weight, producing a peculiar sounds in the beach. Before leaving the female walks several times over the nest, hiding the tracks and the exact location of the site.
6. The Return
At the end of the process the female returns to the sea. The average duration of the process for the Olive Ridley species is about 1 hour.

Sea turtles need our help.

Decades of commercialized hunting of the now endangered sea turtles for meat, eggs, and shells, have seriously diminished their numbers.
 
While man is clearly responsible for the sea turtle’s place on the infamous “endangered” list, there are few creatures on earth who experience such low survival rates—a mere 1% to 2% normally reach adulthood. The Sea Turtle Conservation Camp at Playa Las Tortugas is committed to improving the odds.
 
México is fortunate to be host to a majority of the species of sea turtles. Three species come to nest here on the Costa Tortuga, 70 miles north of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific coast. The Turtle Camp provides an opportunity to witness and participate in a variety of natural wonders such as the incredible rush to the sea by the baby turtles.
 

The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA, February 19, 2006
“Playa Las Tortugas has become an example of what can be accomplished when the government, environmentalists, and private developers look beyond a quick fix and the quick buck that plague developing areas around the world ...”

Environmental Study

Commencing in 1997 the developer of Playa Las Tortugas sponsored an environmental study, performed by the Scientific Investigations Department of the University of Nayarit, which was used to draft a document published in March 1998 called the “Ordenamiento Ecologico Semidetallado de la Cuenca Baja del Rio Otates, Nayarit”.
The study is a tool now used to forward environmental conservation and protection, currently helping us to promote protection of the adjacent mangrove estuary and turtle nesting habitat at a federal level.

Urban Development Plan

The environmental study mentioned above also served as the base document of an urban development plan for our zone, sponsored by the developer of Playa Las Tortugas. By sponsoring an urban plan we were able to encourage lower density development of the surrounding area. The plan was signed into law, and later published in the state legal periodical during April 2005. The urban plan regulates development for over 5 kilometers (3 miles) of coastline and the adjacent 1783 hectares (4582 acres) of habitats.

Demographics

Included as part of the urban plan study were demographics of the area including the two rural, primarily agricultural towns of “El Espino” and “Otates y Cantarranas” which form our community.

According to the results of the study the population had been in decline over the previous 15 years, by a total of some 17%, due to migration in search of jobs. At that time only about 29% of the total population was economically active, primarily in agriculture, livestock, and fishing.

In 2007 an agricultural or ranching field hand makes approximately $150 pesos per day, or less than $14 USD, making alternatives such as seeking work outside of Mexico more attractive. According to the 1990 census only 62% of persons above the age of 15 years were educated to the primary level, and even today it is not unusual that adults in our community remain without basic reading and writing skills. One of the means of raising standards of living is via education, another by creation of jobs, and the two go hand-in-hand.

Standard of Living and Educational Opportunities

In addition to responsible growth, Playa Las Tortugas looks forward to seeing a raised standard of living by providing employment and education opportunities to inhabitants of our rural area.