Turtle Tourism Beckons
By Rayne Wolfe, The Press Democrat

As a tourist to Costa Rica more than a decade ago, Santa Rosa Junior College instructional assistant Debbie Sherman delighted in visiting Tortuguero National Park, home to many species of turtles.

Little did she know what was being set in motion.

"Year after year, I kept going back to visit Costa Rica, to see the turtles," she said of the leatherback and greenback aquatic reptiles.

On a day trip to the peninsular village Parismina, she was shocked when she saw the beautiful beach littered with just-butchered turtle carcasses.

"For generations, turtle meat and turtle eggs have been part of the people's diet. I respect the local traditions, but I was horrified to discover that poachers illegally killed turtles to make money," said Sherman.

Quick research by Sherman revealed that in the past 20 years, leatherback turtles, the largest turtles in the world, have declined by 95 percent, putting them on the brink of extinction.

And so she developed a network of Parismina villagers and tourists like herself to voluntarily patrol beaches at night to discourage poaching. Led by paid native guides and with backup from the local Coast Guard, she says, the effort is not dangerous.

"What we've found is that with local support, just standing there is enough to deter poachers," she said.

Leatherback season in Costa Rica is now, April and May. Greenback season is August through September, Sherman said. During these times, the turtles come out of the ocean at night to lay eggs on their natal beaches. It is a time when they are particularly vulnerable.

The nonprofit group Save the Turtles of Parismina hopes to avoid a repeat of last year, when guide salaries dried up in mid-September. That's why board members are hustling for support.

"Every silent auction item donated, every ticket purchased, every dime goes straight into the program," said Jane Sorensen, the board president.

Longtime friends, Sherman and Sorensen are newcomers to nonprofit organizing.

In one way, their job is simple - do what they can to protect turtles. In another way, the complexity of the effort takes some explaining.

Monitoring the group's Web site, www.costaricaturtles.com, Sherman assists online would-be travelers in planning trips to Parismina. Those tourists are introduced to villagers she has screened, who open their homes as lodgings for about $20 a day.

Ideally, turtle-tourism volunteers who provide room fees will bolster a poor economy while reducing poaching.

"This is not glamorous at all. It appeals to a certain adventurous type of traveler," Sherman said.

Volunteers also guard hatcheries where eggs are protected until turtles emerge. Volunteers shepherd tiny turtles on their slow first trek to the sea. The surf then slowly washes away the lacelike tracks, but, Sherman hopes, not before symbolically connecting the people on the beach to the turtles in the sea.

Save the Turtles of Parismina is hosting its first benefit concert to support the beach patrol work in Costa Rica.

"I know everyone gets these requests to save this and save that, the constant gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, for so many good causes," she said. "But turtles are like the blind man heading toward traffic. Anyone with a heart would do what they can."