Each year, thousands of sea turtle species hatchlings become disoriented and up to 80 percent die because of light pollution, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. In response, the FFWCC has worked with Sternberg Lighting to develop and approve outdoor lighting fixtures that are designed to minimize the impacts of exterior lighting on nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings.

Wildlife Lighting
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Marine Turtle Program

Sternberg Lighting has four fixture lines that meet those stringent guidelines
and have been certified as Wildlife Lighting:

Click images for specs
				Name: Omega R and Omega F Series Catalog number: 1527 and 1531 Required options: 18w or 35w LPS lamp Wildlife Lighting Certification Number: 2008-002
Omega 1527F	Omega 1527R	Omega 1531F	Omega 1531R

Omega 1527FLED	Omega 1527RLED	Name: Omega F LED and Omega R LED Series Catalog number: 1527FLED and 1527RLED Required options: Amber LED (see spec sheets) Wildlife Lighting Certification Number: 2011-009
Park Ridge 1910ALED/5RLM18	Park Ridge 1910ALED/5RLM24	Name: Park Ridge LED Series Catalog number: 1910ALED/5RLM18 and 1910ALED/5RLM24 Required options: Amber LED (see spec sheets) Wildlife Lighting Certification Number: 2011-009
Libertyville 1914LEDFG	Libertyville 1914LED/RLM731	Name: Libertyville LED Series Catalog number: 1914LEDFG and 1914LED/RLM731 Required options: Amber LED (see spec sheets) Wildlife Lighting Certification Number: 2011-009

About the Turtles:

Born at night, newly hatched turtles instinctively head toward the place with the most light, which historically had been the sea because its reflective surface bounced back more moonlight than the sandy beach. Today, hatchlings often mistakenly head toward relatively brightly lit condominiums, restaurants, and streets, where they are at risk of being eaten by predators, run over by cars, or baked to death in the hot Florida sun the next day.

The FFWCC, along with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), have combined their efforts and begun certifying light fixtures as wildlife friendly. In order to qualify, lighting manufacturers must meet certain guidelines. Luminaires must be mounted as low as is practical for an intended illumination task, have full cut-off or at least be completely shielded from the beach, and be lamped to produce long-wavelength light. (Turtles have trouble seeing monochromatic yellow, amber, and red light, but are most attracted to bright white polychromatic lights, such as white fluorescent, metal halide, halogen, and mercury vapor).

Appropriate wildlife lighting meets ALL THREE of the criteria below:

Keep it LOW - mount the fixture as low as possible to minimize light trespass, and use the lowest amount of light needed
for the task

Keep it SHIELDED - fully shield the light so bulbs and/or glowing lenses are not visible to minimize light trespass

Keep it LONG - use long wavelength light sources (ambers and reds) in the appropriate lighting fixtures