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This regional coastline is the epicenter for sea turtle nesting in this whole hemisphere. And during sea turtle nesting season — April through September — a member from the 45th CES Environmental Flight is on the beach every morning to monitor the nests and check the productivity of the hatchlings. Of the approximate 100 eggs laid by sea turtles in a nest, only one will make it to adulthood, said Mable O’Quinn, a biological scientist and a conservation law enforcement officer for Cape Canaveral AFS. To help protect the sea turtle eggs, base officials put predator screens over the nests to keep raccoons and hogs away from nests. “A major human impact on all sea turtles is exterior lighting that disorients hatchlings,” Mr. George said. Once turtles hatch from their eggs, they rely on light to guide them to the ocean, and if there are lights any- where close to the nests, the sea turtles will become confused and will go toward what- ever light they see. “The 45th Space Wing – Patrick AFB and Cape Canaveral – are the global leaders in light management,” he said. “When you come on the Cape at night, it is dark. Low- pressure sodium lights that give off a yellow light are the only lights that do not confuse the sea turtles are along the whole Cape.” Air Force officials are giving sea turtles a fighting chance at survival and prospering by limiting regional predators and unnatural lighting, but when a foreign species invades or is brought into the region, there is no natural foe to balance its growth. One such invader, the Brazilian pepper tree, is a shrub or tree that reaches over 30 feet in height that was introduced into Florida in the mid- 1800’s for use as an ornamental plant. Its bright red berries and brilliant green foliage were used as Christmas decorations. “The Brazilian pepper tree outcompetes the native vegetation,” Mr. George said. “When it grows, it shades out the mangrove seed- lings and leatherwood ferns and others and infests the area with a thick growth and keeps the natural wildlife from growing in areas.” Base officials are in the process of developing techniques to slow and hopefully stop the spread of the Brazilian pepper tree, and that will help not only the Air Force installation, but also the entire state where the tree has spread. “Whether it is a turtle at the Cape, a manatee in our marina, or the scrub jay, the 45th Space Wing does everything possible to ensure the ‘first inhabitants’ of the Cape have a healthy and thriving environment for decades to come,” said Brig. Gen. Edward L. “Ed” Bolton Jr., the 45th SW commander and director of the Eastern Range at Patrick AFB that supports an aver- age of 20 missions per year aboard Delta and Atlas launch vehicles. Cape Canaveral was chosen for rocket launches to take advantage of the earth’s rotation because the linear velocity of the Earth’s surface is greatest toward the equator. Launches at the Cape allow rockets to take advantage of this by launching eastward, in the same direction as the earth’s rotation. It is also highly desirable to have the down- range area sparsely populated in case of acci- dents, and the Atlantic Ocean is ideal for this. But during the race to space in the 1950s and ‘60s, federal laws and regulations concerning the environment were not in place. “At the time, we didn’t know what damage was being done to the ground water, but now we have projects worth millions of dollars to clean up the environment,” Ms. O’Quinn said. “We have the installation restoration program dealing with the clean up from launches done in the past. Plus we have an active hazardous waste program and pollution prevention program to make sure we do not make the same mistakes that we have done in the past.” Donald Humphreys, a senior environmental scientist for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., drives a herbicide buggy used to spray toxins to help eliminate unwanted Brazilian pepper trees and cogon grass. The 137-foot tall Cape Canaveral lighthouse is the only fully operational lighthouse in the Air Force. Built in 1868, the lighthouse was appointed to move inland one mile by the Congress due to beach erosion. The Brazilian Red Pepper trees are threatening the native ecosystem of Cape Canaveral and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refugee in Florida. The peppers grow quickly into a dense 15-25 foot barrier that shades out or excludes native species of mangrove trees and wildlife. The peppers are combated by using chemical herbicides or mowing down. J May-June 2009 45