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The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center
The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization which originated on Topsail Island, North Carolina and is now located nearby in Surf City, North Carolina.

Jean Beasley is the founder of the rehabilitation center and was the executive director for over 20 years. She opened the facility in 1997 in memory of her daughter Karen. Karen Beasley was diagnosed with leukemia after she graduated from college and passed away in 1991. It was Karen’s wish for her mother to use her life insurance money to open a sea turtle rehabilitation facility.

Jean Beasley was the executive director of the facility until 2021, when she retired at the age of 85. The current executive director is Kathy Zagzebski.

During the 1980s, Karen and Jean Beasley visited Topsail Island, NC and witnessed a sea turtle hatching. This instance inspired them to begin working with sea turtles to protect them from danger. Before the facility was established, Karen called their work the Topsail Turtle Project.

The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center has treated over 1,000 sea turtles. The rehabilitation center finds turtles that have been hurt or injured. Common ailments for sea turtles that the center encounters are hook and net entanglements, viral or fungal infections, and injured flippers. These turtles are caught, treated, and released again when they are healthy. The releases of healthy turtles are primarily open to public viewing.

In addition to catching wounded or sick sea turtles and keeping them in captivity to treat them and release them when they are healthy again, the center also facilitates sea turtle hatchings and protects the turtles from the elements and predators. The organization has hundreds of volunteers that stroll the 26-mile coastline of Topsail Beach daily May-August looking for sea turtle nests and hatchlings on the beach.

Jean Beasley is also on the board of directors of the International Sea Turtle Society. She was the first member of the board that was a leader of a volunteer-based organization.

The organization holds weekly Turtle Talks in Surf City Town Hall that are free for the public to attend May-September.

The current facility is 13,000 square feet and is located at 302 Tortuga Lane Surf City, NC 28445. The rehabilitation center has been based out of this location since 2013. Prior to this, it was located on the south end of Topsail Island, NC in a 900 square foot facility.

Awards
Founding director Jean Beasley received the 2022 Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award in Cherokee, NC. The award is given to one recipient annually who has shown exceptional contribution to conservation or wildlife conservation. The award is named after Thomas Quay, a late NC State professor of zoology.

Jean Beasley was awarded the title of Animal Planet Hero of the Year in 2007 from thousands of other nominees for her contributions.