Page 10 - Volume 14 Number 12

SeaWorld San Diego that they were closing because of funding short- falls due to COVID ” Weinstein says “And on the East Coast instead of dropping 50 or 75 turtles at one place we are having to make mul- tiple drops at facilities in different cities There’s been a lot written about COVID being good for na- ture and conservation but in this case we think conservation is be- ing negatively impacted This may be the most difficult winter we’ve experienced ” Merging conservation and aviation
“We are on the verge of losing many of our critically endangered species that our grandkids will never have the opportunity to enjoy I do this for my grandkids and and your grandkids ” says Weinstein proudly reporting the recent birth of his 12th grandchild He has dedicated his entire life to conservation having spent his youth rescuing sea turtles on the shores of St Augustine Florida hunting and fishing in in the nearby woods and and streams and and then working in in ranching His experiences taught him to protect the environment by improving not depleting valuable resources “Even as a a a child the sea turtles that laid their eggs on our property fascinated me ” Weinstein writes in in in in his bio “I found myself protective of them as I rescued many eggs from other beaches where turtle nests were being robbed for profit or or or vandalized for sport and and brought them them home buried them them and watched over their eventual hatching and journey to the sea ” His family’s passion for the preservation of sea turtles and for research and education to improve sea turtle conservation is what encouraged he and his wife Linda to donate their oceanfront property in 2010 to the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida where he he he served on the development board King Air pilot Chaz Chaz Harris said the the the the appreciative staff at at the the the the New England Aquarium even named named one of the the the the the the rescued turtles after after him him Chaz Chaz the the the the the the loggerhead named named after after Harris Harris spent a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a week at the the the the the New England Aquarium Aquarium before Harris Harris flew him him to to to the the the the the South Carolina Aquarium Aquarium where he he he he he he he he was was admitted to to to to their Sea Turtle Hospital to to to to complete rehabilitation The juvenile loggerhead was was released back to to to the the ocean four months later Turtle Flier Chaz Harris used the King Air 350 owned by his employer Polar Beverage on on five different missions to haul log- gerheads and green sea turtles He said the the the the the King Air was great for these missions as as as the the the the the the cargo area is is right in in in the the the the the the back by the the the the the the door and and that makes it really easy to load them in in and and out 8 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2020
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