J Nichols rising above hardship and pain in the name of sea turtle conservation (plastic turtle in picture was not harmed in the making of this e-bulletin)

Anyone who knows Dr. Wallace J. Nichols knows that he’s not prone to thinking small. Taking his conservation vision global, J has accepted a position as Senior Research Scientist at the Ocean Conservancy, where he can promote the sea turtle message to a global audience. J remains committed to the growing ocean conservation movement in northwest Mexico as the core of his work, “I plan to continue my personal involvement in conservation and research in the region for the long term, as well as serve as an advisor to organizations and students involved in the region. My passion and life work is the conservation of sea turtles along the Baja California peninsula.” Through J’s work with Pro Peninsula and the Grupo Tortuguero, many useful and scalable conservation tools have been developed throughout the communities of northwest Mexico and J is committed to continuing our record of innovative and effective conservation work. J will remain Pro Peninsula’s Conservation Scientist, continuing his ongoing work with the Grupo Tortuguero and ProCaguama.

The town of López Mateos has come a long way in its conservation efforts. During the month of July, two young women in the community showed their environmental mettle in a contest to be ‘Reina López Mateos.’ Cindy Johaly Silva Ayala and Lyzbeydy Covarruvias Saguilan both spoke out in their communities about conservation and recycling, focusing especially on the problem of waste reduction. That was not all, however; they also went head to head in a recycling competition to see who could gather the largest amount of plastic (bottles, wrappers and other trash) to be recycled. Cindy Silva took home the prize, having gathered over 2,649 pounds of plastic. Between the two, the town of López Mateos saw over 3,569 pounds of plastic recycled, an excellent start for what will hopefully become routine practice in one of the Grupo Tortuguero’s most active communities. Congratulations Cindy!

Cindy Johaly Silva proudly stands over the bounty of recyclable plastic that brought her the honor of being the Queen of López Mateos

Peninsular activists taking a break in the sun at the Waterkeeper Alliance annual meeting

Unsurprisingly, quite a few people along the Baja California peninsula want access to clean water. This June at the Waterkeeper Alliance Annual Meeting in San Francisco, Pro Peninsula organized four days of intense discussion focused on coastal water issues and programs in the Baja California region. Activists representing 9 organizations from the communities of La Paz, Cabo Pulmo, Loreto, San Carlos, Ensenada, Tijuana and San Diego, participated in the meetings. The jam-packed agenda covered updates on peninsular water programs, discussion about community organization, managing water quality monitoring projects, taking legal action, creating a strong board of directors, and basic nonprofit operations – budgets, accounting, and reports. The group closed the meetings by defining strategies, actions, and next steps – look out polluters! Finally, punctuating the event on an especially positive note, the Waterkeeper Alliance welcomed Peter Patterson as the new La Paz Coastkeeper. Congratulations Peter! Pro Peninsula thanks Environment Now for moving mountains to bring this stellar group of peninsular activists to San Francisco.

Ranulfo Mayoral was born and raised in Laguna San Ignacio, where his father Pachico is known as the first fisherman to have a ‘friendly’ encounter with a gray whale as well as a pioneer of the whale watching ecotourism that makes the Lagoon famous. Ranulfo, following in his fathers footsteps, has dedicated his life to working with the natural environment, receiving guide training through programs such as NOLS and Rare and participating in conservation projects such as the Grupo Tortuguero. Today, Ranulfo is regarded as one of the top naturalists, boat captains and bird experts in Laguna San Ignacio, as well as a respected fisherman. Along with Laguna San Ignacio resident Francisco Fischer, Ranulfo runs the Grupo Tortuguero monitoring program in the Lagoon, one of just four groups on the peninsula that has consistently carried out sea turtle monitoring every month for a full 5 years. Ranulfo has remained dedicated to his work with the Grupo Tortuguero because, as with many individuals throughout the peninsula, he grew up eating sea turtles and benefiting from their abundance. “Having eaten sea turtles for many years, I feel that it is time for me to make up for the damage I’ve caused.”

-'I hope we can continue our work with the greatest enthusiasm, as what we are doing is one of the most positive things anyone could be doing' -Ranulfo Mayoral

Ranulfo loves his time with the GT, sharing his years of sea turtle knowledge with others throughout the region, and doing what he believes is "one of the most positive things anyone could be doing."