SEE Turtles’ Billion Baby Turtles Program Surpasses 20 Million Hatchlings Saved
Portland, OR - SEE Turtles, an award-winning nonprofit focused on protecting endangered sea turtles, is proud to announce a major milestone: more than 20 million sea turtle hatchlings have now been saved through its flagship program, Billion Baby Turtles.
Conceived in 2013, by late co-founder Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D., with the simple question, “How much does it cost to save a hatchling?”, the program has grown from supporting a handful of nesting beaches to becoming one of the largest private funders of sea turtle conservation globally. Today, the program supports more than 3 million hatchlings saved each year through partnerships with over 50 organizations working at more than 60 beaches in 25 countries.
Leatherback hatchling from Panama. Photo Brad Nahill / SEE Turtles
“This milestone is a testament to the power of grassroots conservation,” said Brad Nahill, president of SEE Turtles. “From local community members protecting nests to students raising funds, it’s a global movement to save these marine reptiles—one hatchling at a time.”
Since its inception, Billion Baby Turtles has distributed more than $1.5 million in conservation grants, focusing on the most endangered species and populations, including hawksbills and Eastern Pacific leatherbacks. The program prioritizes projects that engage local communities and address high-impact threats to nesting beaches, like consumption of turtle eggs and meat.
How SEE Turtles Works: A Community-First Approach to Conservation
SEE Turtles’ approach centers on empowering local communities as conservation leaders. Its grantmaking model supports locally-run nesting beach programs, providing critical funding where international support is often limited. By supporting local residents in nest protection—often providing employment opportunities and economic alternatives—Billion Baby Turtles helps shift the narrative from exploitation to stewardship.
The organization also invests in education and sustainable travel to protect turtles and their habitats.
Colola Beach: A Conservation Success Story
One of the program’s most remarkable success stories comes from Colola Beach in Mexico, where the Nahua Indigenous community, in collaboration with the University of Michoacan, has led a dramatic recovery of the black turtle (a sub-population of green turtle).
From fewer than 600 nests in the late 1990s, the beach now sees tens of thousands of nests per season, producing millions of hatchlings—making it the most important black sea turtle nesting sites in the world. SEE Turtles remains the only international donor to this program, having supported this work since 2013.
University of Michoacan researcher Carlos Delgado, Ph.D., who has worked on this beach since the 1990’s, says “This population has reached or surpassed pre-Industrial levels, a unique thing with sea turtles, and an extremely rare victory in conservation of any wildlife worldwide. Funding and volunteer support from SEE Turtles has been critical in maintaining this success.”
Black turtle nesting at Colola Beach. Photo: Juan Ma Contortrix
Looking Ahead: From 20 Million to 50 Million
With threats like climate change, illegal hunting, plastic pollution, and habitat loss still endangering sea turtles worldwide, SEE Turtles aims to expand Billion Baby Turtles’ reach to even more beaches and underfunded regions. The organization is currently launching its 2025 Year-End Campaign, with donations matched up to $5,000 that will go to protect important leatherback nesting beaches in Mexico through Grupo Tortuguero, an organization co-founded by J. Nichols.
“We’re only just beginning,” added Nahill. “We believe 50 million hatchlings saved is within reach—and we invite people everywhere to be a part of that journey.”
To learn more, donate, or get involved, visit:
👉 www.SEETurtles.org/20-million