Sea Turtles Forever (STF)

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Sea Turtles Forever (STF), founded in 2002, is an Oregon based non-profit charitable, marine turtle conservation organization with the mission to protect endangered marine turtles and support a healthy marine environment. STF conducts research and monitoring of endangered sea turtles in Costa Rica, and also researches the effects of marine plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean.

STF runs several projects:
• The Punta Pargos Green Turtle Monitoring and Protection Program
• The Pacific North West Leatherback Awareness Program
• The Lagartillo Reef Monofilament and Marine Plastic Debris Survey
• The Oregon Marine Micro-Plastic Response Team

Activities:
• In Costa Rica we protect four endangered marine turtle species, including the Eastern Pacific Green and Black, Hawksbill, Leatherback and Olive Ridley.
• Using in-situ and translocation techniques, we protect marine turtle nests from poachers and hatch thousands of marine turtles every year, thus helping secure the natural cycle of life on the beach.
• Without the use of a hatchery, we work to protect the turtles´ nesting cycle in their natural habitat and work to protect and study natural conditions
• STF collaborated with the University of Guelph on a marine plastic survey and removal in Costa Rica during the 2012 season. We removed these items that would otherwise become part of the turtle food chain in the nesting and foraging areas surrounding Punta Pargos.
• In Oregon we visit schools to give marine turtle conservation presentations, and we make public appearances with "Turtle Man" and "Isabel" (our life-size Leatherback model), characters who are creating a tremendous amount of public awareness of the need for marine turtle conservation in foraging areas such as the ones along the west coast of the U.S.
• We have also established a Sea Turtle Hotline for people to report sea turtle sightings in the Northeastern Pacific foraging areas.
• STF has also operated marine micro plastic surveys on Oregon beaches since 2008 and has developed a system for beach removal of micro plastics as small as 100 micrometers in size (the size of a grain of sand.

Marc Ward is the President & Board Chair of Sea Turtles Forever (STF).

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.