California's Official Marine Reptile

The California state Senate voted this week to make the endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle the official marine reptile of California. Assuming Governor Jerry Brown signs the legislation into law, October 15th will officially be Leatherback Conservation Day in the state of California. Mark your calendars!

Paso Pacifico's head turtle ranger, Salvador Sanchez,
inspects a leatherback turtle on one of the beaches
where we work to protect sea turtle nests.

Every year leatherbacks migrate from the warmer waters off the coast of Central America where they nest to colder waters off California's coast where they feed on jellyfish. Considering our US headquarters are located in Ventura and the turtle nesting beaches we protect are in Nicaragua, the symbolism of the leatherbacks' annual migration is especially meaningful to us. We'll be looking to partner with other conservation organizations to observe the first ever Leatherback Conservation Day in California.

Please contact us if you're interested in recognizing Leatherback Conservation Day: wendy (at) pasopacifico.org