Turtle Hospital tour is an eye-opener
Memberships now available to Marathon-based nonprofit
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By KAREN QUIST
kquist@keynoter.com
Posted - Sunday, January 18, 2009 10:46 AM EST
Turtle Hospital administrator Ryan Butts at the Marathon nonprofit facility. (Photo by Karen Quist)
The Turtle Hospital in Marathon is one of those places that should be required visiting for people coming to the Keys.
If anyone’s ever doubted the impact their actions have on the natural environment, they need go no further than the hospital, where they’ll learn about turtles that have died with a belly full of plastic or have lost a flipper that was entangled in monofilament.
It was just such a visit — a series of them, actually — that led the hospital’s administrator, Ryan Butts, to where he is now.
If you go What: Turtle Hospital Where: 2396 Overseas Highway, Marathon When: Open daily with tours starting at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.; tours last 90 minutes. How much: Admission is $15 for adults; $7.50 kids; under age 4 admitted free. Contact: 743-2552 or visit www.turtlehospital.org.
Butts used to vacation in the Keys a couple of times a year and would stay at Hidden Harbor, the former motel next to the hospital founded by Richie Moretti.
“I was a bartender from Michigan who’d come down to go fishing and diving,” Butts said. “We’d spend half our time here [at the hospital] and half our time at the Buccaneer.”
“I was blown away by what Richie did,” he said. So at 26, Butts decided to go back to college to study biology and chemistry. After graduating, Butts came back to work at the hospital. Moretti still serves as its executive director.
Right now, Butts is overseeing the care of 37 turtles.
It’s a working hospital, so visitors must be accompanied by a guide. Daily tours include an educational presentation, a tour of the treatment rooms and a visit to the waterfront enclosure, where they learn about each patient and get to help feed some of them.
Plastics in the environment are a huge concern, Butts said, particularly for hatchlings, so that’s stressed to visitors.
“The guests learn a great deal about conservation, the history of the hospital, and why they’re endangered,” Butts said.
Like most attractions in the Keys, the Turtle Hospital has seen a drop in visitors since last fall. To help offset that decline, it’s offering memberships for the first time, as well as launching an online store where people can buy turtle gear. Membership prices vary, so call or visit for details.
