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Press on Groundbreaking for NMLC:NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Endangered Sea Turtle Patients Arrive at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Nine endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are arriving at the National Marine Life Center on Tuesday, January 16, 2007. The turtles, which stranded on the Cape during October and November, 2006, were rescued by MassAudubon Wellfleet Bay and have been in critical care at the New England Aquarium. Now that they are out of the turtle “ICU,” the animals will continue their rehabilitation at NMLC’s Sea Turtle Clinic. “We are pleased to care for this new batch of patients,” said Kathy Zagzebski, NMLC President and Executive Director. “Saving these critically-endangered animals is essential to ocean conservation. We’re thrilled to be working along side institutions such as the New England Aquarium and MassAudubon in the fight to save stranded sea turtles on Cape Cod.” The sea turtles are juveniles, an age class that commonly visits Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound during summer months. All nine animals were suffering from cold-stunning, a form of hypothermia. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are listed on the U.S. Endangered Species List. Fewer than 1,000 adult females exist world-wide, and every individual rehabilitated and released is critical to the survival of the species. Ninety percent of the cold-stunned sea turtles rescued off the Cape are Kemp’s Ridley. Cold-stunning is a condition that affects these cold-blooded reptiles when the water becomes too cold for the animals to maintain their internal body temperature. The sea turtle stranding network is comprised of organizations, including non-profits, educational institutions, and government agencies, working together to rescue and rehabilitate live-stranded sea turtles, and to gather data from dead-stranded turtles. The National Marine Life Center is a private, non-profit hospital for stranded marine animals. Its mission is to rehabilitate for release stranded sea turtles, seals, dolphins, and small whales, and to advance scientific knowledge and education in marine wildlife health and ocean conservation. For more information, visit http://www.nmlc.org.
An exciting new product line is now available in
the National Marine Life Center Giftshop! By purchasing Survival products, you yourself are helping to support animal and marine preservation. A portion of the proceeds from Survival Beachwear products directly benefits organizations such as the National Marine Life Center in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Survival Beachwear vision is to introduce more people to Survival Beachwear and continue to spread our positive message of education and preservation. Survival, a way of life… ™” http://www.survivalbeachwear.com
August 18, 2006
T-shirts back wildlife cause
By CHRISTIE SMYTHE ''Hopefully, people like the product and hopefully it helps benefit the wildlife,'' said Ian Wood, an executive in Peabody-based Renwood Reality, Inc., and co-founder of Survival Beachwear. Survival Beachwear started selling its T-shirts and flying discs in the National Marine Life Center's gift shop earlier this summer. The shirts, which are decorated with simple fish logos, retail for $20 for adult shirts and $16 for kids shirts. The discs, which glow in the dark and are made of recycled plastic, go for $8. The company is planning to donate as much as 10 percent of its profits to the center and other marine-life causes, Wood said. Although the center is currently the company's only funding recipient, Wood said Survival Beachwear is discussing similar arrangements with other wildlife organizations. Founded about 10 years ago, the National Marine Life Center is still a long way off from fulfilling its mission - providing a full-service marine animal hospital. The center is raising $11 million to renovate a warehouse along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay. Until it reaches its goal, the center is running an educational center and a gift shop in the warehouse, and has set up limited tank space for treating turtles and seals. So far, the center has nursed eight ailing sea turtles back to health. The hospital staff also hopes to treat seals in the coming year, but the facility is not equipped for dealing with seals and sea turtles at the same time, said Kathy Zagzebski, executive director of the center. The center has only two pools, which share the same water system, and seals and turtles require different water temperatures, she said. The turtles prefer warmer water and the seals prefer colder water, she said. The organization is working on the first major step in turning the warehouse into a full-service marine hospital. Zagzebski is reviewing bids to install a pipe system to draw water from the Cape Cod Canal. Zagzebski said she doesn't expect the Survival Beachwear sales to be a significant help in getting the center to the $11 million mark, but she said the shirts might help make people more aware of the center's mission. ''It could be a great way for the organization to earn some money and to promote the cause of helping marine life,'' she said. Christie Smythe can be reached at csmythe@capecodonline.com. (Published: August 18, 2006) Bill Lee, the former Red Sox pitcher nicknamed for his bizarre antics on and off the field, was in town yesterday to visit recovering sea turtles at the National Marine Life Center.{READ MORE}
On November 17th, the Cape Cod Commission unanimously approved the National Marine Life Center’s request for a hardship exemption as a project of community benefit. Commissioners stated the proposal is a ‘model’ of what a project of community benefit should be. On November 17th, the Town of Bourne Conservation Commission reviewed the National Marine Life Center’s request for approvals under state and local wetlands regulations. The reception was positive, and the hearing was continued to December 1st, to await a state DEP number. “On December 1st, the Town of Bourne Conservation Commission approved the National Marine Life Center project.
Marine center up for hardship exemption By CONOR BERRY A commission subcommittee last month unanimously recommended that the full commission grant the exemption, based on a determination that the redevelopment proposal by the National Marine Life Center qualifies as a ''project of community benefit'' and complements ongoing revitalization efforts in Buzzards Bay. A renovated and expanded National Marine Life Center would provide opportunities to study and rehabilitate injured marine animals while simultaneously creating new jobs and educating the public, according to project backers. ''We see it as an anchor project involving substantial capital investment, as well attracting visitors and tourists and running an education program for the children,'' said Tom Moccia, president of the Buzzards Bay Village Association. The nonprofit association supports viable proposals to make the Bourne village a destination, not just a place to drive through en route to the Cape, Moccia said. The subcommittee, heeding recommendations from the regional planning agency's staff, agreed the center's proposal should be allowed to proceed because its probable benefits would outweigh any detriments. The panel said the project stands to benefit not only the town of Bourne, but the Cape as a whole by drawing more people to the regional facility. The nearest such facilities that tend to stranded and injured marine life, such as turtles and porpoises, are the New England Aquarium in Boston and the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Conn. If the full commission agrees with the subcommittee recommendation, which appears likely, the project will get the green light to proceed with local permitting. The commission is scheduled to consider the hardship exemption at a hearing at 3 p.m. today in the Assembly of Delegates chamber in Barnstable District Courthouse. Plans call for drawing water from Cape Cod Canal to feed tanks capable of holding injured sea turtles, seals, dolphins and even small whales, according to project officials. The Army Corps of Engineers manages the federal waterway and has granted permission to use canal water, which would be recycled. Commission approval would pave the way for the only marine animal hospital in the county. Conor Berry can be reached at cberry@capecodonline.com. (Published: November 17, 2005)
Latebreaking news! After a public hearing on October 20th, a subcommittee of the Cape Cod Commission VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL of the NMLC's request for an exemption as a project of community benefit, with some minor conditions as recommended by CCC staff to be worked out during the construction phase. The commissioners, commission staff, and members of the public in attendence were very positive and supportive of the NMLC project. The next step is for the full commission to vote on the project. This meeting is anticipated for November 17th. NEWS & EVENTSPRESS RELEASE A sub-committee of the Cape Cod Commission voted unanimously Thursday evening to recommend to the full Commission that the National Marine Life Center be approved as a Project of Community Benefit/Hardship Exemption, with conditions for stormwater, hazardous materials and lighting, for the construction of an acute and rehabilitative care hospital for stranded marine animals on Main Street in Buzzards Bay in Bourne. The first step will be to install the pipes bringing the necessary sea water to the facility from the Cape Cod Canal. The panel, acting upon the recommendations of its staff, agreed the Center should be allowed to proceed under the Commission's Development of Regional Impact (DRI) regulations as such a project of community benefit to the Bourne, the Upper Cape, and Barnstable County. This procedure, if agreed to by the full Commission, will provide the Center with authority to complete its design and to pursue local permits. "We are delighted with this vote of confidence in our project," said Kathy Zagzebski, Center President and Executive Director, "and we look forward to meeting with the full Commission next month in seeking final approval." The Center's efforts were endorsed by current State Undersecretary of Transportation and former State Representative from Bourne, Tom Cahir; State Senator Therese Murray, Chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee; State Representatives Matt Patrick and Susan Williams Gifford; Director Katie Touhey and Board Chair and President Don Abt of the Cape Cod Stranding Network; Tom Moccia, President of the Buzzards Bay Village Association, and John Harding, Chair of the Bourne Financial Development Corporation. Also expressing support were Bourne Town Planner Coreen Moore, Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School Superintendent Barry Motta; Bill Norman representing the Cape Cod Canal office of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, and Commodore Rick Guernon, President of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The National Marine Life Center is a private non-profit hospital
for stranded marine animals. Its mission is to rehabilitate for
release stranded sea turtles, seals, dolphins, and small whales,
and to advance scientific knowledge and education in marine wildlife
health and ocean conservation. For more information, visit: http://www.nmlc.org.
Panel backs marine life rehab center plan By CONOR BERRY The project, which calls for increasing the square footage of the Main Street facility and adding marine animal holding tanks, now must receive full commission approval, which could come as early as next month. ''It was a real boost to get the positive feedback from the panel and the public,'' said Kathy Zagzebski, executive director of the National Marine Life Center, which rehabilitates stranded marine animals before releasing them back into the wild. A commission subcommittee reviewed the project last Thursday as a development of regional impact. The panel unanimously recommended that the full commission grant a hardship exemption to the nonprofit marine animal rehabilitation and education center, and approve the expansion ''as a project of community benefit.'' The Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, both federal agencies, have already granted permission to the center to draw water from the Cape Cod Canal, a federal waterway. The canal water, which will be recycled, will feed eight various-size marine holding tanks, Zagzebski said. In addition to final commission approval, the project still requires approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection and Bourne conservation and planning officials. ''It'll be a hospital for marine animals and also a destination for tourists and residents alike to learn more about marine animals,'' Zagzebski said. ''We're really excited.'' The center currently has two interim pools designed to care for injured loggerhead turtles and seals. But some of the new tanks are expected to be large enough to hold dolphins, porpoises and small whales. To convert the former lumber warehouse into a marine hospital and discovery center, project officials hope to add about 2,800 square feet of new space to the existing 17,000-square-foot facility - for a total of 19,800 square feet. A host of supporters, from state Sen. Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, to Tom Moccia, president of the Buzzards Bay Village association, a local revitalization group, have endorsed the project as a positive development for downtown Buzzards Bay. If the expansion wins approval, officials say the first step is to install pipes that will pump water from the canal into the new holding tanks. Conor Berry can be reached at cberry@capecodonline.com.
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