Sea turtle group active at Capitol gets name change

The Caribbean Conservation Corp., a Gainesville-based nonprofit group that lobbies for sea turtles at the Florida Capitol, changed its name Wednesday to the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

The group oversees spending for 30 percent of revenue from the Florida's sea turtle license plate and lobbies the legislative and executive branches on issues including oil drilling, beach sand replacement, land acquisition and coastal development that threatens nesting sea turtles. The group was the world's first sea turtle conservation group in 1959 when it was founded by author and University of Florida researcher Archie Carr.

Marking "World Sea Turtle Day" on Wednesday, the group changed its name to more accurately reflect its focus on sea turtles and its broader geographic perspective, Executive Director David Godfrey said.

Smaller, younger groups with "sea turtle" in their names, he said, received more attention while many people did not realize that Caribbean Conservation Corp. operated globally with a strong presence in Florida.

"We are trying to give ourselves a name that will help us communicate what we do to a little better to people," Godfrey said. "I think we have done the best we can with a name that is quirky and doesn't really tell a story."

(Story provided by The Florida Tribune. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and FloridaEnvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained by contacting brucebritchie@gmail.com.)