Venice beach nourishment project marine turtle monitoring. Final report, phase II: year 2 post project - 1998.

Abstract

In 1993 the City of Venice was authorized to complete the restoration of Venice Beach. The Venice shoreline is utilized as nesting habitat by marine turtles which are protected. Because beach restoration can result in changes, such as in sand density, beach shear resistance, moisture content, beach slope, sand color, grain size and shape, that may affect the nesting activity of adult turtles and the hatch and subsequent emergence success of the nests, special conditions were included in the restoration permit. The special permit conditions for evaluating the effectiveness of the restored beach in conjunction with marine turtle nest/hatch activities are summarized. Phase I was completed during the summer and fall of 1994. Monitoring for marine turtle activity occurred for the project year, 1994, and for two years post-construction, 1995 and 1996. This report documents the marine turtle activity, nest protection measures, and nest success evaluations for the final year of required monitoring for the entire Phase II shoreline. Phase II was completed in the spring and summer of 1996.