Overnight camping at Bellows closing to protect honu
COURTESY USFWS
A green sea turtle, or honu, at Midway Atoll. Officials are closing Bellows Field Beach Park this summer — May 16 to Aug. 31, possibly longer — to protect nesting green sea turtles.
Overnight camping at Bellows Field Beach Park will once again be closed this summer to protect nesting sea turtles.
The closure is scheduled from May 16 through Aug. 31, but may be extended past the Labor Day weekend in September if additional nesting sites are observed, according to Marine Corps Base Hawaii and Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation officials.
Overnight camping and twilight use of bathroom and shower facilities will be prohibited during the closure period, but weekend day use of the popular stretch of beach will still be allowed, along with military training exercises on weekdays.
“This suspension is necessary to ensure the safety of this federally protected, culturally significant, endangered species as the turtles nest, incubate, and hatch along this popular shoreline,” said officials in a joint news release. “Community, military, and park officials have documented several human activities in this area that threaten the safety of the nesting turtles, such as: illegal beach off-roading, camping fires, dogs, illegal trash dumping, and the presence of artificial lighting.”
In 2020, green sea turtles were found nesting at Bellows Beach for the first time in documented history, possibly as a result of reduced foot traffic during COVID-related park closures.
Officials have since closed Bellows to overnight camping every nesting season to protect the green sea turtles, which are a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In 2021 and 2022, the closures began a little earlier, in mid-April.
The Honolulu DPR said it plans to use this camping suspension period to renovate the bathroom buildings and trim ironwood trees.
According to protocol, once a nesting site is confirmed at Bellows, the area surrounding it will be cordoned off from human use, and signs will be posted.
Reports of sea turtle nest sites and hatchlings needing protection in Hawaii should be reported to the NOAA hotline at 888-256-9840. Reports of illegal behavior or disturbance of turtles and nests at Bellows can be made at 285-9529 or 257-2123.
