Sea Turtles and Their Basque Friend

Time to time is good to post here a note or an article about a Basque person who makes a difference.

This time the accolades go to José Echeverría.

This is what the South Florida Sun-Sentinel published about him:

Savior of the shelled.

Highland Beach honors sea turtle nest monitor for his volunteer work

By Rhonda J. Miller
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted July 23 2006

Highland Beach · The footprints of Jose Echeverria are ingrained in the sand along this town's three-mile coastline.

His fingerprints are invisibly etched on the wooden stakes that mark the nests of hundreds of sea turtles that have crawled ashore in the darkness.

The Town Commission recently recognized Echeverria for establishing and nurturing a volunteer sea turtle program for more than 20 years.

Echeverria is moved by the town's appreciation for his "dedicated and steadfast efforts to protect God's creatures -- loggerheads, greenies and leatherbacks -- from harm's way," as it says on the plaque presented by Mayor Harold Hagelmann at a commission meeting on June 6.

But mostly, Echeverria is moved by the mystery of the 300-pound creatures that return to the same shore year after year, to nest and lay 100 eggs at a time.

Echeverria, 86, is a native of Bilbao in the Basque region of Spain. He and his wife, D.J., their son, Dale, and daughter, Suzanne Trombino, became fascinated with sea turtles on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua in the early 1960s, where Echeverria was working as a general manager for Chevron Oil Co.

They bought their Highland Beach home in 1976 and became acquainted with the town's sea turtles during vacations. They became full-time residents in 1984.

Echeverria has held the town's state permit for sea turtle monitoring since 1985, which requires him to collect data for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

"It's amazing what nature has given us. The turtle clan is great," Echeverria said, stopping by the front desk at Town Hall to pick up maps he designed for his crew of 30 turtle volunteers.

He divides the coastline into five zones, noting condo names and house addresses. Sunrise monitors mark each place on the beach and the map where turtle tracks are seen. That way, if there's a storm, or if someone unknowingly picks up a wooden stake, monitors can find the nest.

His volunteer work goes beyond town and state borders.

Boca Raton marine conservationist Kirt Rusenko worked with Echeverria to prepare for an international sea turtle symposium in 1998, and their paths sometimes merge in their common mission.

"I have a lot of respect for Jose. His program is one of the more organized that I've seen," Rusenko said. "He delegates the responsibility to people in different zones. In a volunteer organization, it's pretty remarkable to get all those people and to make sure it all gets done. He's put a lot of sweat and effort into it."

Most municipalities in south Palm Beach County have permit holders who are paid contractors, said Megan Conti, environmental specialist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Towns that have beach nourishment projects or beach cleaning must have someone contracted to monitor turtle nests, Conti said.

Highland Beach is not likely to have a beach nourishment project, because it doesn't have a public beach. In the northern part of the county, such as on Singer Island, some areas are monitored by volunteer crews, Conti said.

It isn't easy building a consistent and enthusiastic volunteer corps, even though awe-inspiring adult turtles and adorable baby ones might make it appear that way.

"People want to volunteer, so we tell them to meet us on the beach at 6 a.m.," said Jose's son, Dale Echeverria, 58, a volunteer for 12 years, who coordinates zone one. "They show up with their doughnuts and coffee. They think it's going to be a party.

"Then they're down on their hands and knees," Dale Echeverria said. "Next thing you know, they're a no-show."

Marking nests and digging to help baby turtles get out can take one to three hours. It's seven days a week during turtle season, from March to October.

"After a year, they prove themselves if they've come out every morning at 6 a.m.," he said.

Patti Hansen has come out almost every morning of turtle season that her job as a flight attendant didn't take her out of town.

"I don't go away for vacations in the summer. I have my turtles in the summer," said Hansen, 50, who started as a monitor in 1991 while she lived in Highland Beach.

Even though she moved to Delray Beach 13 years ago, she stayed on as a monitor in Highland Beach and is a zone leader. She has been a volunteer since she heard Echeverria talk about turtles at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton.

"Jose's enthusiasm was contagious. He was very welcoming to me, even though I knew nothing about marine turtles," Hansen said. "He's very humble, and I've never heard him say a bad word about anyone. Jose values every volunteer."

Jose, D.J. and Dale Echeverria trace their interest back to Nicaragua, when poachers gathered turtle eggs and sold them in the market.

The family watched Jose and his friend carry a 300- to 400-pound turtle back into the ocean to keep poachers from finding the nest.

"That way, no one would see the tracks," D.J. Echeverria said. "Even back then, we were saving baby turtles."

Rhonda J. Miller can be reached at rjmiller@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6605.

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