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Gulf Guardian Award Winners 2005
Partnership Category - 2nd Place
| Company: | USFWS Southwest Regional Office, Ecological Services |
Click on the picture to view a larger size. Presentation of the Gulf Guardian Award for Partnership, 2nd Place, to the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle Recovery Program Partners. From left, Bruce Moulton; Bryon Griffith, Director of the Gulf of Mexico Program; winner Pat Burchfield; and Mayor Richard Greene, EPA Region 6 Administrator. |
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| Project Name: | Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Recovery Program | |||
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas | |||
| Category: | Partnerships |
The Gulf of Mexico Program recently announced that the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Recovery Program will receive a second place Gulf Guardian Award for 2005 in the Partnerships Category.
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle recovery program was informally initiated 27 years ago to prevent the impending extinction of the species. The primary purpose of the program is to increase the number of turtle hatchlings returning to sea by protecting turtle nests and deposited eggs along the Tamaulipas coastline. At the same time, program partners work with the Tamaulipas communities to create a beneficial economic venture; a ceramics industry based on the existence of the turtle. Communities also are engaged in education efforts with children. Project partners include the U.S. and Mexican governments, the Gladys Porter Zoo, the communities of the Tamaulipas coastline, the U.S. and Mexican fishing industries, and myriad public and private contributors of funding and time. Success of the project is measured in the number of returning turtles, hatchling numbers and hatchling releases to the Gulf of Mexico.
