Florida sets record for sea turtle nests but Trump move could stall recovery
Florida is seeing record-breaking sea turtle nesting numbers this season, signaling a successful recovery for the species. However, experts warn that recent rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act under the Trump administration could threaten these gains by prioritizing industrial development over conservation.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between environmental protection policies and industrial deregulation, which could have long-term impacts on biodiversity and endangered species recovery.
A nesting sea turtle in 2026. Photograph: Adrienne McCracken/Loggerhead Marinelife Center A nesting sea turtle in 2026. Photograph: Adrienne McCracken/Loggerhead Marinelife Center Marine life Florida sets record for sea turtle nests but Trump move could stall recovery Loggerhead turtles abound this season but rollback of Endangered Species Act protections could threaten future
Prefer the Guardian on Google Wildlife groups in Florida are celebrating record numbers of sea turtle nests this season, but experts warn Donald Trump’s recent gutting of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could reverse decades of their recovery from the edge of extinction.
With more than two months of the summer nesting season still to run, loggerhead turtles have already laid 13,770 nests , hundreds more than recorded in any previous year, along an 8.5-mile stretch of shoreline monitored by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
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