Herald Anything could happen between now and Halloween. But halfway through turtle nesting season, it looks like a good year for sea turtles in Franklin County. It will be even better if authorities can get rid of a few coyotes with a hankering for turtle eggs. Turtle monitors on Franklin County's barrier islands report that the number of turtle nests this year is on pace to be equal to or higher than past years. The only sour notes are the coyotes, which destroyed about 10 nests on Little St. George Island in recent weeks and a half-dozen on St. George Island.
Authorities are in the process of getting rid of the coyotes, which are a non-native species.
Killing them is one option. Turtle watchers have counted about 100 nests a year on Little St. George in recent years. This year, they've already found more than 80 through this week, and there are several weeks of heavy nesting left. Calleson works for the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve, which monitors turtles on Little St. George Island and Dog Island, on St. George Island outside the state park, and on the mainland between Eastpoint and Carrabelle. An average of about 225 nests a year have been found in those areas in recent years.