DECEMBER 14, 2010

Jane Provancha, Environmental Project Manager for Innovative Health Applications (IHA), was honored at Kennedy Space Center December 14th for her recent work on two sea turtle conservation projects.

Ms. Provancha received the KSC Engineer/Scientist of the Year Award (contractor category), as well as an individual environmental award "for demonstrating outstanding scientific, ecological, and leadership skills in two major sea turtle efforts at Kennedy Space Center."

Ms. Provancha coordinated with multiple agencies in the rescue of impacted sea turtles during two major events in 2010: a record breaking freeze and the recent Gulf oil spill disaster.

During the cold event in January 2010, Ms. Provancha coordinated the resources available at KSC to support region wide turtle rescue efforts. Using her expertise and ecological science network, she and her partners gathered data on an unprecedented number of sea turtles inhabiting the northern Indian River Lagoon system including physical attributes, size and health indicators. She continues to support NOAA and FWCC in planning for improved future responses for such catastrophes.

During the Gulf oil spill disaster, Ms. Provancha was selected to support a two state, multi-agency sea turtle nest relocation effort from the Gulf to the Atlantic coast. She coordinated an IHA and NASA team to use existing KSC infrastructure to accommodate the care of incoming nests and release of subsequent hatchlings. This required coordination with USFWS, NOAA, NPS, NASA, and FWCC on a regular basis with daily reports sent to the Wildlife Unit of the Joint Incident Command for the spill. A total of 275 late term nests were delivered to KSC and were incubated and released along the KSC beaches over the course of three months.

Over the last 25 years, Ms. Provancha has made significant contributions in the area of sea turtle and manatee conservation and has shared her knowledge in a number of ways including student mentoring, participation in the International Sea Turtle Society, the USFWS, several endangered species recovery teams and more.

Innovation Health Applications (IHA) provides medical and environmental support services through a contract with Kennedy Space Center. With over 200 highly trained doctors, nurses, scientists, technicians and environmental specialists, IHA is expertly equipped to ensure the safety and health of KSC workers and the environment in which they operate.

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