While most people notice Mass Audubon\u2019s effort to directly protect shorebird nests\u2014sometimes including ranger patrols or symbolic fencing to keep beachgoers a healthy distance from nests\u2014 the Costal Waterbird Program also works through environmental education<\/a> and science-based political advocacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to these efforts, Piping Plovers have rebounded from 135 pairs in 1986 to more than 800 pairs in 2020, and they\u2019re still on the upswing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every November, volunteers and staff from Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary rescue cold-stunned sea turtles<\/a> from the chilly shores of Cape Cod Bay. Most of them are the smallest and rarest of the sea turtles, the Kemp\u2019s Ridley, which are already threatened by abandoned fishing gear and plastic pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate change is driving an increase in autumn strandings. Ironically, warmer waters in summertime mean more Kemp\u2019s Ridleys\u2014which normally stay south of Cape Cod\u2014 are migrating further north. When waters cool and turtle instincts say \u201cgo south,\u201d turtles are trapped by the unique shape of Cape Cod and often become hypothermic before they make it around the tip of the Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the 90s, the average number turtles in Cape Cod Bay\u2014and the average number of strandings\u2014has skyrocketed. Normally, Mass Audubon partners with the New England Aquarium to rehabilitate and release cold-stunned sea turtles. This past winter, there were so many strandings that we had to send them to facilities as far away as Houston for treatment and release!<\/p>\n\n\n\n While many species are threatened or declining, the word \u201cendangered\u201d only refers to a species that\u2019s protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (or the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, which protects species at risk locally in Massachusetts). These laws require the state and federal government to monitor and conserve habitat for species at risk of extinction<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside of directly protecting rare wildlife on our sanctuaries, one of the most powerful things we can do for rare species is advocate for their legal protection. After our Breeding Bird Atlas<\/a> showed precipitous declines in Saltmarsh Sparrows<\/a>, American Kestrels, and Eastern Meadowlarks, Mass Audubon petitioned the state to list each species as Endangered. We also stand up for the both the federal<\/a> and Massachusetts<\/a> Endangered Species Acts when they\u2019re under attack.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mass Audubon protects dozens of endangered species with different strategies from habitat protection, science-based management plans, and advocacy. Here are just a few of the ways we\u2019re watching out for rare and declining wildlife. Helping Shorebirds Share the Beach Piping Plovers and Least Terns nest on the ground along Massachusetts\u2019 sandy beaches, but they need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":15786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/4052Corey_Nimmer25947-750x501-772f638e-5480-442a-a94e-379302b22332.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-46p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11453,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/protecting-endangered-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":15773,"position":0},"title":"Protecting Endangered Species","author":"Hillary T.","date":"August 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) has come under unprecedented threat. More than two dozen pieces of legislation and policy proposals designed to weaken the law\u00a0have surfaced. Mass Audubon has been advocating in support of upholding the ESA, which has been in place for 45 years. Here are just\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Piping Plovers \u00a9 Sandy Selesky","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/514SandySelesky600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/514SandySelesky600.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/08\/514SandySelesky600.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6240,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/a-gold-star-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":15773,"position":1},"title":"A Gold Star Project","author":"Hillary T.","date":"September 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We recently received this\u00a0letter from a Colleen Kiely, a young Mass Audubon member from Western Massachusetts. Colleen\u00a0spent her summer at the Cape Cod National Seashore teaching visitors about piping plover conservation as part of her Girl Scouts Gold Scout Award Project. We were so inspired by her story that we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stuff We Love"","block_context":{"text":"Stuff We Love","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/stuff-we-love\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/09\/image1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2885,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/action-alert-mass-endangered-species-act\/","url_meta":{"origin":15773,"position":2},"title":"Action Alert: Mass Endangered Species Act","author":"Hillary T.","date":"October 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Efforts to repeal the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA) are once again underway, and we need your help! On Monday, November 4, the\u00a0Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture\u00a0will hold a hearing that includes two bills Mass Audubon strongly opposes. These bills would result in a repeal of endangered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Advocacy"","block_context":{"text":"Advocacy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/advocacy-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eastern box turtle by Joy Marzolf","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2012\/06\/Eastern-box-turtle-looking-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9151,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/banding-peregrines-2017-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":15773,"position":3},"title":"Banding Peregrines 2017 Edition","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Every May, Norman Smith, Director of Mass Audubon\u2019s Blue Hills Trailside Museum, and Tom French, Director of Mass Wildlife\u2019s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program, band peregrine falcon chicks in Boston. You can learn more about why we band falcons here. Among this year's banding locations were the Marriott Vacation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/05\/NormanEEA-640-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/05\/NormanEEA-640-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/05\/NormanEEA-640-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3254,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/special-alert-victory-for-endangered-species\/","url_meta":{"origin":15773,"position":4},"title":"Special Alert – Victory for Endangered Species","author":"Hillary T.","date":"February 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"From our Advocacy Department: We are happy to report that yesterday, in response to a lawsuit filed against the Commonwealth's regulatory use of priority habitat screening to protect endangered species, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously to affirm the state's authority under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA). The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Advocacy"","block_context":{"text":"Advocacy","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/advocacy-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2014\/02\/plover-USFWS-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12630,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/city-nature-challenge-accepted\/","url_meta":{"origin":15773,"position":5},"title":"City Nature Challenge — Accepted!","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 1, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Our TerraCorps member Nick Tepper took over the Mass Audubon iNaturalist account from April 26 to April 29 to participate in Boston\u2019s City Nature Challenge: a fun-filled citizen science competition to document biodiversity around the world. Nick submitted over 400 observations and documented over 220 species. Here are some of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Stuff We Love"","block_context":{"text":"Stuff We Love","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/stuff-we-love\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Piping Plover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/pipl3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/pipl3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/pipl3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/pipl3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15773"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15773\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15790,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15773\/revisions\/15790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/piping-plover-adult-on-nest-with-chick-c-pat-ulrich-1140_bannerbackground-1024x400.jpg\")
Keeping Sea Turtles out of the Cold<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/131245518_10159420548659048_544930102782895870_n-1024x683.jpg\")
Advocating for Legal Protections<\/h3>\n\n\n\n