Help Protect Sea Turtles & Wildlife: Leave the Fireworks to the Professionals

Help Protect Sea Turtles & Wildlife: Leave the Fireworks to the Professionals

St Lucie County, Fl  – St. Lucie County’s Sea Turtle Friendly Beaches Work Group encourages residents to skip setting off their own fireworks, especially on county beaches, to help protect native wildlife including threatened and endangered sea turtles and to enjoy one of several public events being held this Independence Day Weekend.

Setting off fireworks can easily scare pets, wildlife and residents with post-traumatic syndrome. For those along the coastline, please do not set off fireworks on St. Lucie County beaches as it is sea turtle nesting season and the trash/litter left behind from these fireworks can damage the health of marine life. St. Lucie County’s 21 miles of beaches are designated as critical nesting habitat for three species of threatened or endangered sea turtles.  Among the problems caused by illegal fireworks on the beach, the flashing light and sound can disrupt sea turtle nesting activity resulting in false crawls, failure to lay eggs and to cause increased hatchling mortality as they emerge from nests and orient toward the bright fireworks instead of the ocean.

Public fireworks displays will take place in St. Lucie County at the following events:

• St. Lucie Mets game on Monday, July 3 at 6:10 at Clover Park, 31 Piazza Drive, Port St. Lucie, following the game against the Dunedin Blue Jays.
• Stars Over St. Lucie on Tuesday, July 4 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. (fireworks start around 9 p.m.), at Marina Square, 1 Avenue A, Fort Pierce. Presented by the City of Fort Pierce and Main Street Fort Pierce, this event will feature live music, crafts and food vendors.
• Freedomfest: July 4th Celebration at the MIDFLORIDA Event Center, 9221 Southeast Event Center Place in Port St. Lucie, on Tuesday, July 4 from 4 to 10 p.m. The City of Port St. Lucie’s annual celebration will provide a day of patriotic fun, music and food for people of all ages. Fireworks begin around 9 p.m.
• Hometown, USA – Tradition’s 4th of July Celebration on Tuesday, July 4 from 5 to 9 p.m. in Tradition Square. Activities include food, a Kid Zone, live music and more. Fireworks at approximately 9 p.m.

For additional tips about keeping our beaches sea-turtle friendly and to see the progress on nesting numbers, visit: www.stlucieco.gov/seaturtleseason.