A Win for the Endangered Sea Turtles

Dear Auntie Nanuuq,

Victory for Gulf Sea Turtles

I'm happy to report that there's finally a glimmer of good news for wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.

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,

Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity

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.

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Kemp's Ridley sea turtle photo courtesy NOAA.

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Center for Biological Diversity

P.O. Box 710

Tucson, AZ 85702

1-866-357-3349

www.BiologicalDiversity.org

Stop BP?ARCO From Burning Sea Turtles Alive

 

 

Burned Alive - Help Stop BP from Torching Endangered Sea Turtles

Endangered sea turtles are being burned alive as part of BP's careless oil spill cleanup efforts.

This is unacceptable. These rare, important turtles are becoming trapped in the oily surface of the Gulf and then torched by cleanup crews in "controlled burns" of corralled oil -- any wildlife caught inside the corral are literally burned alive.

And it's illegal: As protected species under the Endangered Species Act, anyone responsible for killing a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle -- the turtle most affected by the Gulf oil disaster -- is liable for criminal penalties including prison time and civil fines of up to $25,000 for each violation.

As reported in The New York Times, the oil cleanup crew's "so-called burn boxes are torching oil from the water's surface at the sacrifice of turtles, crabs, sea slugs and other sea life."

Take action below right now and send this to all your friends. Tell BP to stop torching endangered sea turtles. The turtles should not be burned alive in the process of cleaning up the oil spill that's already destroying their habitat. We can stop it and get the turtles out of harm’s way with your help.

Who Will Speak for Those Without a Human Voice?

		Take Action to Stop More Drilling Disasters   The Obama administration has proposed a 5-year plan for offshore oil and gas drilling that would open up huge swaths of our coasts to dangerous drilling – risking the lives of countless sea turtles, endangered whales, sea birds, polar bears and other wildlife. Take action! Tell Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Obama administration that you oppose dangerous new offshore drilling off our coasts. Help us send 60,000 messages by Wednesday's deadline for public comments. Take action now and forward this message to at least 3 friends. Dear Auntie- Nanuuq, At a time when millions of gallons of oil are still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, wreaking havoc on sea turtles, brown pelicans, sperm whales and irreplaceable coastal and marine ecosystems, it seems inconceivable that the Obama administration would consider more dirty, dangerous offshore drilling. Yet, incredibly, that’s exactly what’s happening. Take a stand for imperiled sea turtles and other marine wildlife. Urge the Obama administration to reject calls for offshore drilling off the coasts of Florida, Alaska, Virginia, North Carolina and other coastal states. As of yesterday, more than 1,000 birds, 400 sea turtles and 40 marine mammals are already confirmed dead due to the Gulf oil disaster. Far more birds, sea turtles, whales, dolphins and other wildlife are likely dead or dying as a result of the ongoing oil leak in the Gulf. The scale of this ecological catastrophe is massive. Yet drilling proponents persist in their calls to industrialize our coasts and sacrifice our marine wildlife at the altar of Big Oil’s profit margins. The Obama administration had announced a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling, temporarily blocked planned drilling in the fragile Chukchi Sea and deployed thousands of federal workers to respond to the disaster in Gulf. On Tuesday, however, a federal judge in Houston – with a history of significant financial investment in oil companies drilling the Gulf -- overturned the six-month ban on deepwater offshore drilling. The Obama administration plans to appeal the ruling and take administrative action to uphold the ban. Ironically, the administration itself is also considering a 5-year leasing plan for offshore drilling that would approve new oil and gas drilling along the Mid-Atlantic and South-Atlantic coasts, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and in the Arctic Ocean – risking the lives of countless sea turtles, endangered whales, sea birds, polar bears and other wildlife. Speak out for our coastal wildlife and communities. Send your comments to the Obama Administration now. In the face of the tragedy in the Gulf, we must make our voices heard. All comments are due by Wednesday (June 30th), so please take action now, forward this message and help us reach our 60,000-message goal. With Gratitude, Richard Charter Senior Policy Advisor, Marine Programs Defenders of Wildlife Defending Wildlife Tomorrow, Defenders of Wildlife will join groups from across America, participating in Hands Across the Sand events to oppose dangerous new drilling. To find an event near you, visit http://www.handsacrossthesand.com/organize-join-a-beach/ This week, Defenders of Wildlife’s legal team moved to stop Big Oil’s attempt to block a temporary moratorium on deepwater offshore drilling, opposing the oil industry in federal court in Houston. Incredibly, a judge who has had significant financial ties to the oil industry ruled to lift the ban. However, the Obama administration plans to appeal the decision – a move supported by Defenders. So far, Defenders has mobilized more than 61,000 caring people like you in support of additional protections for loggerhead sea turtles. Loggerheads – already in trouble before the Gulf oil disaster – are particularly vulnerable to oil and can drown or be poisoned when they become oiled. Defenders has also mobilized to prevent threatened and endangered sea turtles from being burned to death as part of the controlled oil burns occurring in the desperate attempt to reduce oil from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil leak in the Gulf.  Last week, more than 31,000 Defenders supporters urged Senate Democrats to pass comprehensive legislation to reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels and address the impacts of climate change without opening additional coastal areas to offshore drilling.