Persistence

Kemp's Ridley returns to Padre Island

n the 1940s, 40,000 Kemp's ridley sea turtles nested annually on a beach near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. By the 1970s, the number of nesting turtles had dropped to 400. In only 30 years, the Kemp's ridley had become the most endangered sea turtle in the world.

In a desperate attempt to save them from extinction, an international, multiagency recovery effort was launched in 1978. In addition to protecting the Rancho Nuevo nests from the human predation that had decimated the populations, the recovery project decided to try a new and untested management strategy-create a new nesting site for the turtles in a protected area. From 1978­88, 22,507 eggs were collected in Rancho Nuevo, then incubated and released at Padre Island National Seashore, Texas, in an attempt to imprint the hatchlings on the park so that they would return there to nest. This unprecedented experiment, if successful, would not only help to ensure the continuation of the severely endangered species, but could also change the way sea turtles are managed throughout the world.

Each year, researchers and volunteers combed the beaches of the seashore, searching for nests. In 17 years of monitoring (1978­95), only seven nests were found-promising, but not as many as researchers had hoped. Finally, in the summer of 1996, the turtle recovery effort paid off big. That year, Donna Shaver, the director of the Padre Island sea turtle recovery effort, confirmed six Kemp's ridley nests on the Island! Even more exciting, two of the turtles wore tags, identifying them as part of the original releases from Padre Island. These two turtles seem to have imprinted on the seashore. If they and others continue to return to the park, as researchers now expect, the face of turtle recovery efforts will change forever. Protected areas throughout the world could serve as nesting sites for endangered turtles, significantly increasing their chances for survival.

Shaver, formerly with the National Park Service and now with the USGS Biological Resources Division, has worked with the turtles since 1980. She began as a volunteer with the turtle patrol program, then worked as a seasonal employee for five years, and finally became director of the program after receiving her graduate degree. "I've been waiting 17 years for the turtles to come back," says Shaver. "This has made it all worthwhile."

Other articles in the "People & Preservation" chapter:

Resource specialist receives Mather award

Partnership honored by National Park Foundation

Retiring superintendent knows the value of resource management

Air quality at Big Bend is an international challenge

Director honors natural resource stewards

Return to Front Page

This material is from Natural Resource Year in Review--1996, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in May 1997 (publication D-1182)

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Last Update:8/20/2002