The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project

Leona Nicole was named in 2020 by James and Rhoda Stewart for their dear friend Leona. She is a turtle that wandered and nested on many beaches through the Northern Caribbean in 2020. She got her GPS tag during her first nesting event on 10 May at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge and then nested on the north shore of St. Croix, at Southgate Coastal Reserve, and along the north shore of Puerto Rico! She has two names because she was first named and tagged in Puerto Rico by our partners at ATMAR.

Here are her nesting loops 😉

Loop ONE – begins at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge and ends at Southgate Coastal Reserve.

Loop TWO – begins at Southgate Coastal Reserve and ends at East End St. Croix.

Loop THREE – begins at East End St. Croix and ends at Loiza, Puerto Rico.

Loop FOUR – begins at Loiza, Puerto Rico and is ongoing! Stay tuned!

Leona Nicole’s Sponsors – Thank you all for making this happen!

Propeller Club of Baltimore (major sponsor)

James and Rhoda Stewart (major supporter)

ATMAR – Amigos de las Tortugas Marinas, Maunabo, Puerto Rico

Thomas A. and Lucille B. Horne Foundation

National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project is sponsored by The Ocean Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, in cooperation with US Fish and Wildlife Service at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.

All photos on this website were taken under appropriate Endangered Species Permits during the course of approved research. No photos may be reproduced, or copied and used without permission. Thank you.