Local conversation group to protect sea turtles against dredging during nesting season

In 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed to change the dredging window, allowing it in the spring and summer seasons.

A concern for the conservation group “One Hundred Miles.”

“Really dredging year, around including in the middle of sea turtle nesting season which is in full swing right now and that was something we were very concerned about at one hundred miles,” said Ridley.

One Hundred Miles then sued the army corps, first in 2021 and then again in December 2022, trying to stop the proposed project.

A U.S. district court judge ruled in favor of one hundred miles and ordered the Army Corps to conduct a full environmental study on the impacts of dredging during sea turtle nesting season.

Ridley says dredging is safer during winter months because there are fewer turtles in the water around that time.

“This is a relief. I think this action, if it hadn’t been successful if we hadn’t had this tremendous victory, we’d be in a situation where the turtles that are nesting in real time on the coast could come up on our beaches one night, lay their eggs and be killed in a dredge, chopped up in pieces the next day,” said Ridley.

Ridley says right now the army corps is in the process of conducting their study and has no timeline on when it will be complete. She added that the army corps has issued directions that until the study is final- dredging will be confined to the winter season.

We did reach out to the Savannah District of the Army Corps for their input on the study.

Their office was not available for an interview on Tuesday but we plan to speak with them later this week.

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