Throughout my veterinary career I have been very interested in free-ranging wildlife. While working on St. Catherine's Island (SCI) in coastal Georgia, I was able to develop the Georgia Wildlife Health Program. The primary goals of this program are to assist conservation organizations on various aspects of wildlife health and disease and to provide veterinary services to wildlife biologists and graduate students. We have established important collaborative working relationships with several conservation organizations. The focus of the program has been on health-related issues pertaining to wild reptiles and birds. Target species have included marine turtles,^1-3 diamondback terrapins, eastern indigo snakes,^4,5 alligator snapping turtles,^6,7 Barbour's map turtles, gopher tortoises,^8-11 and water birds such as American oystercatchers¹² and brown pelicans.

In 2000, we partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Field Veterinary Program on a global sea turtle health assessment project. Dr. Sharon Deem was conducting health-related work on sea turtles in Gabon,³ Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and in the Congo. Georgia was added as the North American site because of the relationship WCS had with SCI. The work in Georgia included establishing baseline health parameters for several of the life stages of the loggerhead sea turtle.² In addition to evaluating healthy turtles, we started to be called upon to do the initial evaluation of stranded sea turtles found on the Georgia coast. Through this work, it became apparent that a sea turtle rehabilitation center was needed in coastal Georgia.

After 2 years of fundraising and project development, we approached the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) and the Jekyll Island Foundation (JIF) about the idea of starting a sea turtle rehabilitation and education center on Jekyll Island. With the full support of these organizations and the collaborative efforts of many other individuals and groups, the idea became a reality. A fundraising campaign was initiated by the JIF, which ultimately raised approximately 3 million dollars to cover the costs of design, construction, and equipment for the new facility.¹³

The GSTC, a department of the JIA, officially opened its doors on June 16, 2007. One of the unique features of the GSTC is that it integrates rehabilitation of injured sea turtles and other wildlife,^14,15 veterinary, ecological, and conservation research, professional student training, and interactive education for the public. Approximately 100,000 visitors have toured the GSTC annually. The GSTC has an educational presentation area, retail space, a rehabilitative pavilion where injured turtles are nursed back to health, and a state-of-the-art hospital with rooms dedicated to surgery, digital radiology, and treatment and diagnostic procedures. The center has a staff of thirteen full-time, several seasonal hourly staff, and ten full-time and eight part-time Americorp members. Additionally, rotating veterinary externs, graduate students, and more than 150 volunteers frequent the center on a regular basis.

During our five-year journey, we have met and surpassed the goals of our mission statement: "Through sea turtle rehabilitation, research and education programs, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center will increase awareness of habitat and wildlife conservation challenges, promote responsibility for ecosystem health and empower individuals to act locally, regionally, and globally to protect the environment.

References

1.  Day RD, Keller JM, Harms CA, et al. Comparison of mercury burdens in chronically debilitated and healthy loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). J Wildlife Dis. 2010;46:111–117.

2.  Deem SL, Norton TM, Mitchell M, et al. Comparison of blood values in foraging, nesting, and stranded free-ranging loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) along the coast of Georgia, USA. J Wildlife Dis. 2009;45:41–56.

3.  Deem SL, Sounguet GP, Alleman AR, et al. Blood values in free-ranging nesting leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on the coast of the Republic of Gabon. J Zoo Wildlife Med. 2006;37:464–471.

4.  Stevenson DJ, Bolt MJ, Smith DJ, et al. Prey records for the eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi). Southeastern Naturalist. 2010;9:1–18.

5.  Stevenson DJ, Enge KM, Carlile LD, et al. An eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) mark-recapture study in southeastern Georgia. Herpetol Conserv Biol. 2009;4:30–42.

6.  Chaffin K, Norton TM, Gilardi K, et al. Health assessment of free-ranging alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) in Georgia and Florida. J Wildlife Dis. 2008;44:670–686.

7.  Telford SR, Norton TM, Moler PE, Jensen JB. A new hemogregarina species of the alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii (Testudines: Chelydridae), in Georgia and Florida that produces macromeronts in circulating erythrocytes. J Parasitol. 2009;95:208–214.

8.  Tuberville TD,Norton TM,Waffa BT, et al. Mating system in a gopher tortoise population established through multiple translocations. Apparent advantage of prior residence. Biol Conserv. 2011;144:175–183.

9.  Johnson AJ, Wendland L, Norton TM, et al. Development and use of an indirect enzyme-link immunosorbent assay for detection of iridovirus exposure in gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) and eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). Vet Microbiol. 2010;142:160–167.

10. Johnson AP, Pessier AP, Wellehan JFX, et al. Ranavirus infection of free-ranging and captive box turtles and tortoises in the United States. J Wildlife Dis. 2008;44:851–863.

11. Tuberville TD, Norton TM, Todd BD, et al. Long-term apparent survival of translocated gopher tortoises: a comparison of newly released and previously established animals. Biol Cons. 2008;141:2690–2697.

12. Carlson-Bremer D, Norton TM, Gilardi KV, et al. Health assessment of American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliates palliates) in Georgia and South Carolina. J Wildlife Dis. 2010;46:772–780.

13. Carlson-Bremer D, Norton TM, Gilardi KV, et al. Health assessment of American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliates palliates) in Georgia and South Carolina. J Wildlife Dis. 2010;46:772–780.

14. Norton TM. Sea turtle conservation in Georgia and an overview of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Georgia J Sci. 2005;63:208–230.

15. Norton TM. Chelonian emergency and critical care. Semin Avian Exot Pet Med. 2005;14:106–130.

16. Norton TM, Walsh MT. Sea turtle rehabilitation. In: Miller RE, Fowler ME, eds. Fowler's Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine, Current Therapy. Vol. 7. 2011:239–246.