The nonprofit partner for national parks on the Outer Banks has opened its annual program that allows supporters to symbolically adopt sea turtle nests along Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Outer Banks Forever, a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the official fundraising partner of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial, organizes the Adopt A Sea Turtle Program raises funds for projects at the national seashore, which protects more than 30,000 acres from south Nags Head to the Ocracoke Inlet.
Supporter Spotlight
A donation of $100 or more reserves a 2025 sea turtle nest. Nest assignments begin in early June and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
As nests become available for adoption, the donor will be assigned a nest and will receive an adoption certificate by mail or email with initial information about the nest.
When the nest hatches later in the summer or fall, the supporter will receive a personalized update in the mail with information National Park Service rangers collect about your nest, including the number of hatchlings that made their way out to sea. The average incubation time for our nests is 61 days.
National Park Service rangers monitor the 70-plus miles making up the seashore and gather data about the hundreds of sea turtle nests laid each season.
Leatherback, loggerhead, green, Hawksbill and Kemp’s Ridleys are the five species of sea turtles that typically nest on national seashore beach. There were more than 300 sea turtle nests in 2024 along the national seashore, including rare Kemp’s Ridley and Leatherback sea turtle nests.
Supporter Spotlight
“No individual or group who participates in this program can claim ownership of a sea turtle nest, eggs, or hatchlings. Nature is also unpredictable. If your adopted nest is lost to a weather event or damaged by some other means, we will assign you a new nest that may or may not be shared with another individual or group,” organizers said.
Contact Development & Adoption Programs Manager Nicole Erickson at nicoleerickson@obxforever.org with questions.
