Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge honors biology professor

Intensive monitoring, surveys, and data collection by the University of Central Florida’s (UCF) Dr. Llewellyn Ehrhart (“Doc”) in central and south Brevard County ultimately led to the establishment of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in 1991. The Refuge is located along Florida’s central east coast within a 20.5-mile stretch between Melbourne Beach in Brevard County and Wabasso Beach in Indian River County. The Refuge represents the United States’ most significant land acquisition effort to protect sea turtles. The Refuge was designated by Congress in recognition of the need for long stretches of quiet, undisturbed sandy beaches, with little or no artificial lighting, to ensure the reproductive success and survival of sea turtles. The Refuge also provides a home for and protection to many other wildlife species, including Florida-scrub jays, southeastern beach mice, eastern indigo snakes, gopher tortoises, and a great diversity of shorebirds, wading birds, and songbirds.

Dr. Llew Ehrhart recently received the International Sea Turtle Society Lifetime Achievement Award, given to honor an individual who has had a significant impact on sea turtle biology and conservation work throughout the course of their career. The Refuge recently honored Dr. Ehrhart for his hard work and his Lifetime Achievement Award digitally with this feature on their Facebook page.