The Issue:
Government funding for the Mexico/U.S. Binational Kemp’s
Ridley Sea Turtle Population Restoration Project was cut to $50,000 for this
year, and will be discontinued next year.
Background:
Mexico/U.S. Binational
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Population Restoration Project:
This binational program has provided funding ($250,000
annually until 2013) for monitoring beaches where Kemp’s Ridley mothers nest
since 1978. 99% of the Kemp’s Ridley population nests in Northern Mexico and
only 1% nests in South Texas. Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles do not nest anywhere
else in the world.
This program successfully increased the number of nesting
Kemp’s Ridley turtles from only a couple hundred in 1985, to nearly 10,000 in
2009! In fact, the program saw population numbers increasing
by 19% every year until 2009/2010! This achievement makes the Binational
Kemp’s Ridley Conservation program the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s most triumphant program ever!
Funding Cuts:
The United States has accrued serious debt. In order to
incentivize Congress to arrive at a plan to reduce national spending, and
slowly reduce the national debt, the Budget Control Act of 2011 was passed.
The Act imposed a sequestration, or across-the-board federal
budget cuts, if Congress could not agree on a budget. Because Congress did NOT
agree on a budget, these budget cuts took effect in December, 2013. The
sequestration required that federal agency heads cut spending evenly in every one
of their programs.
Congress did finally arrive at a budget for 2015, but
unfortunately, this budget did not provide funding for the binational Kemp’s
Ridley conservation program. This decision would have gone through Earl
Possardt, Marine Turtle Program Officer at U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Why It’s A Problem:
Population Growth Has
Halted:
Many believe that the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is the most
endangered species of sea turtle in the world. Conservation programs have
helped the Kemp’s Ridley population begin to recover, however, their population
numbers dropped 30% in 2010 and have not rebounded since then. This halt in population growth is
thought to be largely due to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. The
Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle was the species most affected by this event.
The Population Has Not
Fully Recovered:
In 1947, over 40,000 Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles were observed
nesting on one stretch of beach in Mexico. Every one of those observed sea
turtles would have laid 2 to 3 nests that year.
In 2011, only 20,000 total nests were recorded in both
Mexico and the US. Clearly, the Kemp’s Ridley population has not yet recovered.
Research on the Effect
of the 2010 BP Oil Spill is Needed:
Scientists believe the BP oil spill in 2010 played a large
role in halting Kemp’s Ridley population growth, however, without research,
this cannot be definitively determined. If we don’t know exactly why Kemp’s
Ridley sea turtles are disappearing, we cannot work effectively to help their
species.
If Kemp’s Ridley population numbers did drop dramatically
because of the oil spill, we will need to wait for the hatchlings, who would
have been most affected by the spill, to reach sexual maturity before we can
understand exactly how Kemp’s Ridleys were effected. (Most population data is
gathered from breeding females who come ashore to lay their nests.) Until then,
we cannot accurately estimate how many sea turtles were killed or injured as a
result of the BP oil spill, and how our conservation successes have been
negated. Sea turtles will continue to be affected even after the sea turtles
who were hatchlings at the time of the spill reach adulthood, as spilled oil
persists in an area for decades. Continuing to collect data on Kemp’s Ridley
populations for several more years is necessary before we can accurately
establish accurate population counts and design future steps toward their
recovery.
Cutting funding for the Kemp’s Ridley now, might mean
cutting funding when the Kemp’s Ridley really needs our help.
Without Conservation,
Endangered Species will go Extinct
Conservation efforts make a difference, as exemplified by
the Binational Kemp’s Ridley conservation program’s effect on the Kemp’s Ridley
population. Without these programs, endangered species would quickly disappear.
The Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is endangered, and it still needs our help.
Because most of their population nests in Mexico, a country where conservation
is underfunded, it is critical that the US continues to support this program
itself.
