The problem has only intensified in recent months.<\/p>\n
A previously dark stretch near I-95\u2019s Exit 42 in Brunswick, Georgia, is now flooded with intense, artificial light from the high-mast light fixtures illuminating the Buc-ee\u2019s exit. The lights were there before the proposal and construction of Buc-ee\u2019s, according to Brittany Dozier, Glynn County\u2019s director of communications. Buc-ee\u2019s itself is not responsible for the lights.<\/p>\n
The county is choosing to keep them on \u201cfor the safety of the motoring public,\u201d Dozier said.<\/p>\n
However, the set up casts light far beyond the highway, extending onto beaches even 12 miles away, including Little St. Simons and Sapelo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more than sky glow \u2014 you can see the light from the actual bulbs shining directly onto the beach,\u201d Ridley said. \u201cWhen you have unshielded artificial lights shining brightly onto the nesting beach, it can override the natural cues the turtles use to find their way to the ocean, and we see misorientations as the result.\u201d<\/p>\n
A brightness crisis<\/p>\n
Georgia\u2019s Department of Natural Resources monitors sea turtle nests and misorientations on Little St. Simons Island. In 2024, 11% of nests had more than 10 misoriented hatchlings, according to a report from the department\u2019s Wildlife Resources Division<\/a>. On average, each loggerhead nest has around 120 hatchlings, Ridley said.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s not just hatchlings at risk from artificial lighting. Nesting females also avoid brightly lit areas, reducing their options for safe nesting grounds along the coast, according to Coleman.<\/p>\n The turtles typically nest on the same beaches each season from late May to mid-August. Although conservationists monitor nests closely, rescuing misoriented hatchlings is not always an option.<\/p>\n A baby loggerhead turtle leaves tracks in the sand on Little St. Simons Island as it attempts to make its way to the ocean. – Courtesy Catherine Ridley<\/p>\n \u201cWe never really know exactly when the nests are going to hatch, and in any given nesting season we are monitoring 75+ nests, and often more than 100 nests,\u201d Coleman said in an email. \u201cWhen hatchlings emerge and crawl in the opposite direction of the ocean, they are much more vulnerable to predators.\u201d<\/p>\n Little St. Simons Island and Sapelo bear the brunt of the problem sitting closest to Exit 42. If these types of high-intensity lights continue to expand, even underdeveloped parts of the isles like Jekyll Island \u2014 home to the greatest population of nesting turtles along the coast \u2014 could see serious long-term consequences for their turtle populations, Coleman warned.<\/p>\n The rise in artificial light has been impacting threatened species of sea turtles all along the Southeast coast. In North Carolina, light-polluted beaches sometimes cause turtles to return to the sea without laying eggs, the National Park Service says<\/a>. In Florida, there were more than 10,000 loggerhead turtle misorientation events from 2020 to 2023 alone, and that number only accounts for the turtles tracked by the state\u2019s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/35c967f3923fcf26f20cf7f437efa382.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
![\"High-mast](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1ede50d870ab9ae470043b25a3acbb92.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n