Garden City Sea Turtle Protections Spark Dispute

Sea turtle volunteers and property owners are colliding in Garden City days before South Carolina’s nesting season starts on May 1. (wbtw.com) The latest push centers on the Georgetown County side of Garden City, where a beach-lighting ordinance restricts artificial lighting from May 1 through Oct. 31 to keep nesting turtles and hatchlings from turning inland. South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts and the South Carolina Environmental Law Project said letters went to rental companies on April 9 demanding fixes before the season opens. (wbtw.com; scelp.org) Volunteers say they have documented repeated cases of turtles and hatchlings being pulled off course by beachfront lights. SCELP said one rooftop floodlight disoriented about 95 hatchlings, and another nesting turtle was drawn within 15 feet of a vehicle before volunteers intervened. (scelp.org) The dispute is unusually messy in Garden City because the beach straddles two counties with different rules. A South Carolina Department of Natural Resources ordinance list says Georgetown County has a sea-turtle lighting ordinance for Garden City Beach, while Horry County has no countywide sea-turtle ordinance on that list. (dnr.sc.gov) That split leaves one stretch of the same tourist beach under different enforcement systems. The state list names the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office or local police for lighting enforcement there, while Horry County says it is responsible for the Garden City Beach shoreline up to the Georgetown County line and stations lifeguards on parts of that coast from May 15 to Sept. 15. (dnr.sc.gov; horrycountysc.gov) Sea turtles nest on South Carolina beaches from May through October, and hatchlings usually emerge at night and head toward the brightest horizon over the ocean. The state Department of Natural Resources says artificial light can break that cue by drawing turtles away from the water. (dnr.sc.gov) Loggerheads are the most common nesting species in South Carolina, though green, Kemp’s ridley and leatherback turtles also appear in nearshore waters. The state reported South Carolina’s first sea turtle nest of 2024 in Garden City on April 29 last year, two days before the official season began. (dnr.sc.gov; dnr.sc.gov) Hardwick said Georgetown County’s rules allow turtle-friendlier red and amber lights landward of the dunes, but she said many oceanfront properties still use brighter lighting that can be seen from the beach. In WBTW’s interviews, one Garden City visitor backed tighter compliance and said the area should protect wildlife people come to see. (wbtw.com) SCELP said it is still seeking voluntary compliance from owners and rental managers acting in good faith, but warned that unresolved cases could be referred to Georgetown County code enforcement or pursued under the federal Endangered Species Act. With May 1 a week away, the beach fight is shifting from spring warnings to who actually turns the lights down. (scelp.org)