Dear Auntie Nanuuq,
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Today, in response to heavy public criticism and facing a lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity and our partners, BP and the U.S. Coast Guard backed down and agreed to stop letting endangered sea turtles be burned alive during surface-oil cleanup operations.
This is a major stride in protecting these important, rare animals, including the highly endangered Kemp's ridley -- already under assault from the millions of gallons of toxic oil gushing into its marine and coastal environment.
Today's big announcement came just moments before a court hearing in New Orleans on our lawsuit brought with Turtle Island Restoration Network, Animal Welfare Institute and Animal Legal Defense Team. We're being represented in the suit by Meyer Gliztenstein & Crystal of Washington, D.C. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order on oil-burning activities.
And it comes after your support earlier this week when we turned the public spotlight on BP by hand-delivering tens of thousands of petition signatures to the oil company, calling for an end to this gruesome practice. It means so much to be able to count on you when it's needed most for the imperiled plants, animals and wild spaces we work to protect. Thank you.
But it's not over yet. We'll need your continued help in supporting efforts to hold BP and the government accountable -- not only to safeguard sea turtles but to ensure that this mess is properly cleaned up and that a similar offshore drilling disaster never happens again.
Thanks again for your help in protecting endangered sea turtles in the Gulf, and I hope you share in this victory as you head into the holiday weekend.
Sincerely,
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P.S. Here's more on this breaking news from The Washington Post.
Settlement Reached on Guarding Against Burning Deaths of Sea Turtles in Gulf
The Washington Post // July 2, 2010
by Juliet Eilperin
The Coast Guard and BP reached a settlement Friday with environmental groups over the issue of how best to guard against accidentally killing endangered sea turtles during controlled burns in the Gulf of Mexico aimed at curbing the oil spill's spread.
Three environmental groups -- the Center for Biological Diversity, the Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Animal Defense League -- had sued in federal court in New Orleans on Wednesday, charging that oil spill responders had taken inadequate precautions while conducting the controlled burns. While activists have not found charred remains of endangered Kemp's Ridley or other sea turtles in the region, they argued the animals are at risk because they tend to congregate in sargassum, seagrasses that burn crews frequently target.
Under the settlement, the two sides have agreed the Coast Guard will soon convene a group of scientists to determine how best to ensure that no endangered sea turtles die during controlled burns. The environmental groups will have input into assembling the group of experts, and the protocol scientists devise will be put on a fast track for public comment so it can be finalized quickly.
"Sea turtles are already suffering catastrophically from the oil spill and it would be outrageous to add insult to injury by burning them alive in the spill cleanup effort," said the Center for Biological Diversity's executive director Kieran Suckling in an interview. "It's a no-brainer to put sea turtle observers on the cleanup boasts and whisk the turtles out of the oil pools before they're set on fire."
No burning will take place in the gulf before Tuesday, because of poor weather conditions, and by then BP and the Coast Guard must inform the environmental groups whether they are prepared to put scientific observers on every burn boat to identify and remove all turtles before any burns resume.
If they can not make that assurance, Suckling said, the plaintiffs "will be back" in court challenging the controlled burns.
Neither the Coast Guard nor BP could be immediately reached for comment.
Kemp's Ridley sea turtle photo courtesy NOAA.
| Center for Biological Diversity | P.O. Box 710 | Tucson, AZ 85702 | 1-866-357-3349 |
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