Before dawn broke over the Gulf Coast, Kelly Hutchins was already walking the beach. As a morning patrol intern at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota this past summer, she arrived before civil twilight. In the liminal hour between 5:15 and 6:30 a.m. when the sky began to lighten but the sun had yet to rise, she searched for signs of new sea turtle activity along 35 miles of Florida coastline.

The data collected by Hutchins and her team tells a story of species resilience. Past data from 2007 shows just 12 green sea turtle nests across those same beaches. By 2025, that number had surged to 351– a nearly 3,000% increase that reflects a recent conservation win: green sea turtles have been moved off the Endangered Species list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Green sea turtles were classified as endangered by the IUCN in 1982 due to numerous human and environmental threats– including poaching, coastal development and climate change. Until 2025, they remained on the Red List, meaning they had a 20% or higher chance of extinction in five generations.

“They went all the way down to ‘least concern,’ or a less than 10% chance of being extinct 100 years from now," said Hutchins, a senior at Elon University majoring in environmental and ecological science. “This is a really big change, and it’s awesome.”

The Work Behind the Data

Hutchins's internship from late May to late August involved skill, but also patience. Each morning, she marked off nesting sites to protect them from beach cleaners and bathers. Once the eggs hatched, she returned to carefully excavate the nests, tallying how many eggs were laid, how many hatched, and how many didn't survive.

The work required emotional resilience from Hutchins. Sea turtles can lay 70 to 100 eggs per nest, but only one in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood. Hutchins said she had to remind herself to be hopeful about the broader impact of her work in moments where hatchlings didn’t make it to the ocean.

"It’s really sad when they’re basically developed, and you’re cleaning that up," Hutchins said. “But working together with my team made things positive and fun, and the bad things were short-lived. They still stuck with you, but then you shift to the positive together.”

Hutchins said the job also took communication skills. She helped manage a team of 20 interns during beach sweeps and coordinated with volunteers who often went out earlier to flag nests. Their efforts didn’t come without conflicts. Property owners sometimes resented the conservation team's presence on "their" stretch of beach.

"You have to find ways to navigate around that. It was a lot of trial and error, and holding open conversations," Hutchins said.

Multiple Threats Converge

The recovery of green sea turtle populations represents a hard-won victory against numerous threats. Federal regulations on fishing bycatch, including requirements for turtle exclusion devices and restrictions on certain types of nets and gear, have reduced accidental turtle deaths.

But significant dangers remain. Beach erosion, exacerbated by climate change and severe weather, destroys the seagrass beds turtles depend on for food. When coastal communities are damaged by storms, pollutants and building materials wash into the water, disrupting habitats and food sources.

An unintended consequence of coastal development is increased nest predation. When a beachside population grows, the amount of litter on the beach increases. An increase in litter attracts a higher concentration of turtle nests’ natural predators, according to the nonprofit Sea Turtle Conservancy. Hutchins said she witnessed several nests ransacked by coyotes and raccoons during her time in Sarasota.

Plastic pollution poses another threat. Through a process called biomagnification, microplastics accumulate as they move up the food chain. Jellyfish consume contaminated prey and accumulate plastic in their bodies. When a sea turtle eats dozens of jellyfish throughout the day, it concentrates that pollution. If a tiger shark then eats the turtle, the plastic accumulates further.

"It affects all marine animals," Hutchins said. “Most plastic waste ends up in the ocean. It’s the most visible issue we see.”

Artificial lighting from beachfront development creates disorientation problems. Sea turtles use moonlight reflected on the water as an aid to guide them to shore and nest. Lights from condos, cars, and street lamps can lure turtles away from the ocean, creating stranding problems and increasing the risk of injury or death.

"The longer they’re out of the water, the more threats to them," Hutchins said.

Sarasota County has implemented regulations requiring all outdoor lights near popular nesting beaches to be red during nesting season, as sea turtles cannot see red light.

Hutchins said sea turtles face a “more complex” issue that can't be regulated away: rising sand temperatures due to climate change. Sea turtles are temperature sex-dependent, meaning warmer sand produces more females, and cooler sand yields more males. As global temperatures rise, turtle populations are becoming increasingly feminized, which could eventually undermine mating success.

“Less and less males will decrease the ability to keep that population afloat,” said Hutchins.

Teaching Science to Non-Scientists

Back at Elon University, Hutchins is applying her field experience to her Core Capstone class, Sustainable Seas, taught by professor Mike Kingston.

Capstone courses are required for all undergraduates at Elon. Students choose from over 40 seminars across disciplines, with topics ranging from the impact of studying abroad to human sexuality. In Kingston’s class, a business major might discuss the fishing industry while an environmental science student presents on ocean conservation.

"I think every college graduate should know how the ocean works as a system," Kingston said.

The class covers a range of ocean-related issues, from deep-sea mining to climate change to sustainable resource use. For her capstone project, Hutchins is preparing a presentation on sea turtle nesting using data and experience from her summer internship. She said the course helps further pursue her passion for science communication at Elon.

“A very interesting part about doing this research is framing it in a way that is applicable and makes sense to people that are not so experienced in the field,” she said.

A Cautious Optimism

The reclassification of green sea turtles represents a conservation success, but Hutchins worries it could create a false sense of reaching the finish line.

"People might think, ‘The work is done, it’s not a problem anymore,’" she said. “That’ll reverse the progress. It’s an ongoing process to continue.”

The cultural moment around environmental awareness, like the "VSCO girl" trend of reusable straws and "save the turtles" merchandise, has helped, Hutchins said.

“I think (those movements) are really helpful,” she said. “Specifically with sea turtles, they’re such an animal that you can get people to care about because they’re cute, they’re pretty, and they elicit an emotional response.”

But awareness alone isn't enough. "The best way to do it is to take those trends and make a physical, long-lasting legal solution out of it," Hutchins said. “There’s only so much you can do with stickers and awareness.”

As the sun rises over Sarasota's beaches each morning of mating season, new turtle tracks appear in the sand. The question now is whether humans will maintain the commitment needed to ensure those tracks keep appearing for generations to come.

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A Florida Beach Reveals a Conservation Success Story: Green Sea Turtles on the Rebound