Turtle Eggs avoid Gulf Oil Danger

The honor of lifting the last of 112 Loggerhead sea turtle eggs went to Bob Miller, who carefully packing the eggs into Styrofoam coolers lined with the white sand at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, on August 9, 2010. Mr. Miller is the Sea Turtle Program Manager with the 96th Civil Engineer Squadron. Because of the critical attachment of the embryo to the inside of the egg shell, the eggs must be gently lifted with out tilting or rotating, the egg. With equal care the transportation to the Atlantic coast is equally critical. At a controlled climate facility, they will be allowed to hatch in the cooler. Wildlife technicians will then release them into the ocean. Bob Miller, a retired Navy EOD diver, an endangered species biologist has for the past 10 years been the Sea Turtle program manager and primary permittee at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. He has also served as the program manager for the Barrier Island and Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Endangered Species Act, Section 7 Consultation; Coastal Zone Management Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and Coastal Barrier Resources Act. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)