About Us
COASTAL WILDLIFE CLUB, Inc. (CWC) is an entirely
volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public
awareness about coastal areas and particularly the wildlife species
which depend upon beach and dune habitats in southwest Florida.
Our primary and most visible project is monitoring beaches for sea
turtle activity in Charlotte and Sarasota counties on Manasota Key,
where sea turtles nest in greater numbers than anywhere else on the Gulf
coast, and on a small section of Knight Island south of Stump Pass.
Volunteers informally monitored local beaches from the 1970’s when they
were known as the Manasota Key Turtle Patrol. In 1997, members of that
group became Coastal Wildlife Club, Inc.
Zoe Bass, Wilma Katz and Carol Leonard serve as the Board of Directors
of Coastal Wildlife Club.
Long-time Principal Permit Holders Zoe Bass and Wilma Katz manage and
supervise our ongoing beach monitoring program reporting directly to the
Florida Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) of the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
At present about 140 CWC patrol volunteers monitor the beaches daily
throughout the nesting and hatching season, from mid-April through
October.
Year round, a small group of CWC volunteers responds to reports of dead
or injured sea turtles. This work is part of the Sea Turtle Stranding
and Salvage Network (STSSN) coordinated nationally by the National
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) and, in this state, by the FWC.
Among our other projects, CWC members participate in local festivals and
provide programs for school classes and community groups. Our outreach
programs are managed by Carol Leonard.
Our webmaster is Andrea Shlasko. Our web data are managed by Mike
Shlasko.
Help Support CWC
(your contributions are tax deductable)
REGISTRATION#: CH48542
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• 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352)
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