![]() ![]() Several hundred people gather on Malaquite Beach at Padre Island National Seashore to watch a sea turtle hatchling release at dawn on Saturday, June 18, 2022. “Now, if the public decides, OK, this is better - well, OK, it’s better.” “People need to get on board and fight this by showing up, by commenting,” Jan Roberson, a former volunteer of the sea turtle program, told the Caller-Times. Limiting vehicles on the beach could also violate the Texas Open Beaches Act, which protects the public’s unrestricted access to beaches. ![]() ![]() To offset the loss, a 2020 review of the program proposed reducing employees’ overtime, scaling back beach patrols for the rescue of sea turtles and eggs, limiting research on sea turtles, reducing the number of public hatchling release events and limiting beach driving in part by requiring paid permits.īut implementing those proposals would mean fewer sea turtles are saved and could slash tourism, resulting in an economic hit to the region, advocates of the program have said. That money made up almost a third of the Padre Island sea turtle program’s budget. The NPS has said the money was taken from the program because it was meant to fund monitoring of green sea turtles, a species that is more populous along Florida coasts than the Texas Gulf Coast. Residents and supporters of the sea turtle program have raised concerns about its fate since 2020, when almost $300,000 of project funds - funds from the National Park Service that the program’s chief competed for and won over other parks - were diverted from the program. ![]()
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