BRUNSWICK, Ga. – A group of local residents and environmental activists are raising concerns about high mast lights at exit 42 in Brunswick, saying they could be harmful to sea turtles.
Catherine Ridley, a coordinator for St. Simons Island Sea Turtle Project, said the lights were turned on about a year ago, and they can be seen from miles away on nearby Little Saint Simons Island and Sapelo Island.
“What that does is it both deters the adult females from depositing their eggs and nesting in those bright locations and for those nests that are laid there, when those hatchlings emerge usually at night, they are misoriented,” Ridley said.
She said the hatchlings often move toward the bright lights, which in this case would be inland, instead of heading toward the water, putting their lives at risk.
Ridley said the high mast lights at exit 42 pose a threat to the 73 turtle nests on Little Saint Simons Island and 83 nests on Sapelo Island.
July is peak nesting and hatching season.
RELATED: FWC urges public to protect nesting sea turtles and shorebirds during nesting season
Ridley and others like Mark Dodd, a senior wildlife biologist with Georga Department of Natural Resources employee have requested that the lights be dimmed or turned off during this critical time. They have also tried to work on a lighting ordinance to address the issue.
“Our position is the solution is not that complicated,” Ridley said. “There’s not a lot of clear answers about where this is heading.”
However, she said the group has been met with confusion and delays in getting clear answers.
Emails shared by Ridley show correspondence between Dodd and a Georgia Department of Transportation employee, and the area’s public works director.
The emails reveal conflicting information about who is responsible for the lights.
In one email, a GDOT employee told Dodd:
“The lights were installed back in 2010 when I-95 was widened. However, we install these at the request of the county and then turn them over to the county to maintain through a lighting agreement. Glynn County just turned them on for the first time due to the Bucc-ees coming in.”
But in another email, this one between Dodd and the director of public works for Glynn County, it suggested the lights remain under state supervision. That email stated:
“GDOT is investigating the options for the future of this interchange and the removal of the High Mast Lights to either be substituted with street lights similar to those along the roundabouts or to not install any additional lights.”
Ridley called the situation “frightening and frustrating” but said the group will continue to push for answers and to protect the turtles.
She encouraged residents to support the cause by contacting county commissioners and asking for the high mast lights at exit 42 to be dimmed or turned off during the sea turtle nesting season.
News4JAX reached out to the GDOT and the county to see who is in charge of the lights and if there are solutions to the bright lights as it relates to turtles, and we are waiting to hear back.