b.o.l.o. - be on lookout for hatchlings!

 
  Christi Hughes, the coordinator for the Galveston area beach patrols, and TAMUG grad student, is asking for help in looking for ridley hatchlings!   When a report of a possible nest in Galveston Island State Park went without a nest being located, the team roped off an area where the nest was thought to be.  We are now approaching Day 45 (on June 27) of a 55-60 day incubation period.  We need more eyes watching now (but please do not walk in or behind the barricade)!   ~ In addition, weaker hatchlings from other nesting areas (such as Padre Island National Seashore and the primary nesting site in Rancho Nuevo, Mexico) are beginning to be found stranded in different areas of the gulf in their effort to survive.  The first Galveston area stranded hatchling was found struggling in the surf on Sunday, and is now being rehabilitated in the Galveston NOAA facility.  In 2008, more than a dozen were found in all on area beaches, so please look out for them anytime you are patrolling or just visiting the beach!

If you see any sea turtles, hatchlings, or tracks on the beach, you should protect the area and immediately call the Texas Sea Turtle Hotline at 1-866-TURTLE-5 to reach the biologist for your area.

nature vacation- Hatchling releases at corpus christi

 If you haven't planned your summer vacation yet, consider visiting the Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi, Texas. The first public release of Kemp's ridley hatchlings into the Gulf of Mexico has been held and there will be more to follow. Don't miss this marvelous opportunity to see the result of 30 years of work in Mexico and the United States to prevent the extinction of the Kemp's ridley sea turtles. Yes, you'll need to get up early and get to the beach, but it's worth it when you see the tiny hatchlings make their way toward the water leaving tiny tracks in the sand. The releases aren't held every day so you will need to allow a few days in the area to make sure you are there at the right time. For the date of the next release and directions to the release site, contact the Hatchling Hotline at 361.949.7163. The hotline is updated as soon as a change in the hatchlings' progress occurs.

Go to the National Parks Service website:  http://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/releases.htm and read the advice given there before you make your plans to travel.

Editorial: Texas Turtle Lady II Features in a New Book and "O, the Magazine

Years ago, Edward Humes, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, called me in Houston and asked what I had done and continued to do to save the Kemp's ridley sea turtles from extinction. After a long phone interview, weeks, months and years passed with no further contact. Frankly, I forgot all about it. A few weeks ago, I learned that Mr. Humes has published a book entitled Eco Barons: The Dreamers, Schemers and Millionaires Who Are Saving our Planet. Chapter 13 in the "Lone Wolves" section tells my story in "The Turtle Lady" chapter. (I'm either a dreamer or a schemer but not a millionaire.) Of course, the original turtle lady was the late Ila Loetscher of South Padre Island, Texas, who first endeared sea turtles to the hearts of the nation by appearing on Johnny Carson's television show. She traveled with a small green sea turtle complete with a tiny sombrero and serape and was a very big hit.

Shortly after learning about the book, the Oprah Magazine contacted me and has included a brief story in the April 2009 issue. Link to article in "O, the Oprah Magazine".

Both the book and the article imply that my work for sea turtles concluded years ago which is far from the truth. Vigilance and action for an endangered species never ends. Law enforcement in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be needed to make sure shrimp trawls have turtle excluder devices properly installed and working. The battle goes on to convince the state of Texas to declare a sanctuary in Texas waters to protect nesting Kemp's ridleys at the Padre Island National Seashore.

The campaign to convince the US Fish and Wildlife Service to consider the upper Texas coast as critical habitat for the Kemp's ridleys continues along with the need for renourishing of beaches following the damage done by Hurricane Ike. The publicity is great only if it benefits sea turtle conservation. - Carole Hoover Allen

Will the sea turtles return in spite of Hurricane Ike?

 

 

After Christmas and New Year's celebrations are past, we look toward spring.  For some of us, one of the most exciting events each year is the return of nesting sea turtles to the upper Texas coast.  Last year was especially memorable with the endangered Kemp's ridleys leaving six nests of eggs on Bolivar Peninsula, six more on Galveston Island and a total of 195 on the Texas coast breaking all previous records.

 

Things are different this winter.  Hurricane Ike was devastating not only to Texas residents but to the beaches where they lived.  Tons of sand were washed and blown away leaving hard clay behind.   Government agencies including Galveston County, Corps of Engineers, Texas General Land Office and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are evaluating beaches and preparing to restore sand in order to attract tourists and residents, and, yes, the sea turtles.  Although some people may not care about the nestings, many do and have a number of vital questions.  Will the sea turtles return?  Will enough sand be moved in time and will it be the right kind of sand?  What about the debris that may still be floating about in the Gulf?  Yes, sea turtles have maneuvered in the Gulf of Mexico for centuries but did they have to face kitchen appliances and tons of lumber floating along with them?

 

Dr. Andre M. Landry, Jr., of Texas A&M University of Galveston points out the importance of renourishing beaches, whose integrity must provide favorable nesting habitat, a buffer from storm related events and a source of revenue through tourism and ecotourism to support communities like Galveston and Bolivar.

 

When marine debris is present, the shrimp industry is quick to ask for a waiver from the use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) which makes sea turtles even more vulnerable to a shrimper who chooses to break the law by disabling the TED.  This is another hazard resulting from Hurricane Ike.

 

There is much to do before spring and the time for sea turtles to reappear.  The rehabilitation building and water supply to the sea turtle facility at the Galveston Laboratory of National Marine Fisheries Service was heavily damaged in the storm and needs immediate repair.  At present, injured or ill sea turtles are taken to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute at Port Aransas, already crowded with sea creatures of all kinds needing help.  Galveston needs its own facility repaired and standing ready for spring.

 

At this point, we can only hope that man, assisted by Mother Nature, will restore the sand that Hurricane Ike removed in time for the arrival of the sea turtles.  It has been a miracle that they visited our beaches in the past and it will be a greater one if they return this spring. 

 

Published by the Galveston County Daily News on January 3, 2009

 

Carole Allen, Gulf Office Director

Sea Turtle Restoration Project