It Takes a Village - community-based conservation in Baja California, Mexico

Animals, Nov, 1998 by Wendee Holtcamp

The deep blue water of Magdalena Bay stirs to the late afternoon's gentle breeze as I stroll down the beach amid the stench of decaying squid entrails. This summer's skyrocketing squid numbers have drawn men from all over Mexico, and many have set up camp on the normally isolated beachfront. True to form, Nichols uses the influx of fishermen to the sea turtles' advantage.

Taylor passes out flyers annoucing an hour-long tortugas marinas ("sea turtle") slide show Nichols plans to give in the evening at the Center for Wetland Studies conference room.

Nearly 50 people show up. Speaking Spanish, Nichols shows slides of each turtle species found around Mexico, explains his own research, and gives advice about turtle conservation. The fishermen ask questions, seem responsive, and laugh when Nichols says the turtles mate for several hours at sea.

"For our efforts to be successful, it's important to consider the perspectives and opinions of others," Nichols says. "In my experience, I've come to know that I don't know much."

Including San Carlos, Nichols regularly visits six main centers along the Baja Peninsula, networking with locals, biologists, and nonprofit organizations. "I don't want them to think of me as a `turtle hugger' but to go home with a greater appreciation of the turtles they encounter at sea." And fostering this type of ecological awareness may well lead to the conservation of more than just turtles.

Wendee Holtcamp is an environmental journalist based in Huffman, Texas.