Loggerhead sea turtle. Photo by Damien du Toit.

Sea turtles are some of the oldest living creatures on earth, with fossils dating back more than 110 million years. These air-breathing reptiles are incredibly adapted to marine living, and throughout their long life (green sea turtles have an expected lifespan of 80 to 100 years or more!), they migrate long distances between feeding and nesting sites.

Close Encounters of the Turtle Kind

I have been fortunate enough to have had multiple encounters with this amazing animal. My first memorable sea turtle experience was when I was 17, scuba diving a reef 40 feet deep in the Caribbean Sea. I had just come to the edge of the reef when a hawksbill turtle swam up from below me. As I drifted alongside the graceful animal for a few minutes, there was a moment when we made eye contact- a moment imprinted in my mind ever since.

Last year I had the opportunity to work with sea turtles at Mote Marine Laboratory, a research and rehabilitation aquarium in Florida. I was thrilled to feed the recovering turtles, clean their tanks, and even train the resident loggerheads. These tasks were not as meaningful, however, as my experience participating in the release of Cowboy, a loggerhead that recovered after sustaining injuries from a fishing line entanglement. As I watched Cowboy dive into the sea, I was grateful for the second chance he had at life as a wild animal. At the same time, I couldn’t help but think about the potential threats he will face in the future.

An Uncertain Future

Direct causes of mortality for sea turtles include entanglement in fishing gear and turtle and egg poaching. Their environment is as risk due to marine debris, beach habitat degradation, oil spills, and harmful fishing practices. And now, sea turtles are greatly threatened by climate change.

Releasing Cowboy back to the Gulf. Photo by Aliya Rubinstein.

Warming air and ground temperatures can result in fewer eggs that produce male sea turtle hatchlings, so whole populations could end up being comprised entirely of females. Climate change also has the potential to drastically damage coral systems — which are important feeding areas for turtles — due to rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification.

A Symbol of Persistence

The sea turtle is a common symbol of longevity, strength, and persistence: are we willing to let these incredible animals disappear when we have the power to take action on climate change?

On St. Patrick’s Day, do what you can to protect the future for sea turtles and add a little more “green” to your wardrobe.

 Urge President Obama to announce strong plans to limit carbon pollution>>

Below is a timeline of major events that have occurred in the past 1,000 days.

Help us spread the word that the oil spill is not truly over by sharing this image on Facebook!

There are persistent rumors that BP might be trying to settle for less than half of what the company could face if brought to trial. Help dolphins and other wildlife in the Gulf by urging the Department of Justice to hold BP fully accountable for the oil spill.

Sources:

- Restorethegulf.org, “First oiled bird is recovered.”
- Restorethegulf.org, “NOAA Expands Fishing Closed Area in Gulf of Mexico.”
- The New York Times, “Effects of Spill Spread as Tar Balls Are Found.”
- TIME, “100 Days of the BP Spill: A Timeline.”
- The White House, “Executive Order 13554–Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.”
- Bloomberg, “BP Oil Still Ashore One Year After End of Gulf Spill.”
- PNAS, “Impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a deep-water coral community in the Gulf of Mexico.”
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, “Study confirms oil from Deepwater Horizon disaster entered food chain in the Gulf of Mexico.”
- The Times-Picayune, “About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from Deepwater Horizon stirred up by Hurricane Isaac.”
- The New York Times, “BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion.”
- Georgia Tech Biology, “Gulf of Mexico Clean-Up Makes 2010 Spill 52-Times More Toxic.”
- University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, “UMiami scientists partner with NOAA, Stanford and U of N Texas to study post spill fish toxicology.”
- NOAA Fisheries Service, “2010-2013 Cetacean Unusual Mortality Event in Northern Gulf of Mexico.”
- The Times-Picayune, “Transocean to pay $1.4 billion to settle pollution, safety violations in Gulf oil spill.”

Courtesy of the Restore the Mississippi River Delta coalition.

Congress Passes Gulf RESTORE Act

More than two years into the worst oil disaster in U.S. history, Congress passed the RESTORE Act today, which ensures that money from BP’s oil spill fines will be dedicated to Gulf Coast restoration.

This is a HUGE win for brown pelicans, dolphins and sea turtles that are still being impacted by the oil spill disaster that began in April 2010.

>> Share this photo on Facebook and help spread the good news to your family and friends

Why was this bill so important? Under the Clean Water Act, BP could face as much as $20 billion in fines for its responsibility in the oil disaster.

National Wildlife Federation and our members and supporters have been fighting for two years to make sure the Gulf gets the help it deserves. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this a reality!

Keystone XL Provision Rejected

The icing on the cake is that the legislation passed today does NOT include language that would have forced approval of the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. This was a very real threat and would have put endangered whooping cranes and swift foxes at risk of toxic oil spills, while also driving a rapid expansion of habitat-destroying tar sands operations that could put the lives of thousands of Canada’s wolves and caribou at risk.

This tremendous victory for wildlife is a testament to how Americans can hold our elected officials accountable to protecting America’s wildlife.

Let’s go celebrate!

Green sea turtle on Hawaii's Punalu'u beach. Credit: Flickr (The Shifted Librarian)

Far from the everyday hustle and bustle of my city life, the slow motion dance of these turtles was captivating. My book laid ignored on my beach towel, while I crouched on the rocks and watched their every move.  Other tourists came and went, my husband retreated back to the shade and his book, but I could have stayed there all day.

Perhaps it was because we usually don’t have the chance to be close to larger animals in the wild. Sure, we can see birds, squirrels and butterflies all around us.  But there’s just something extraordinary about communing with a fully grown sea turtle.

Or, perhaps it was the seemingly timeless nature of the turtles. My daily stresses seemed trivial in the presence of these animals. Sea turtles have been navigating our oceans and beaches for 150 million years. The trials and tribulations of humanity are a just a blink of time compared to what the turtles have witnessed.

Sea turtles at risk of extinction

Yet, today, sea turtles have every reason to be concerned about humanity. Turtles are one of many species bearing the brunt of the human footprint on the planet. Of the seven sea turtle species, three are listed as critically endangered (Kemp’s ridley, hawksbill, leatherback), two as endangered (loggerhead and green turtle), and one as vulnerable (olive ridley) on the IUCN’s Red List.  The last species (flatback) lacks sufficient data to make a determination about its vulnerability.

Environmental hazards face the sea turtles at nearly every turn, as a recent NWF report Sea Turtle Homecoming, Class of 2010 outlines. Beach habitat is critical for sea turtle nesting, yet development on coasts and armoring of beachfront property with sea walls have significantly degraded or destroyed many important nesting areas. Meanwhile harmful fishing practices, marine debris, and oil spills have posed threats to the marine environments frequented by turtles. Indeed, during the 6 months following the BP oil spill, more than 600 sea turtles were found dead in the vicinity of the spill. 

To make matters worse, sea turtles now have to contend with climate change. Increasing air and ground temperatures have already affected the incubation of turtle hatchlings. Embryos developing at higher temperatures toward the top of the nest are more likely to become females, while those developing in the cooler lower reaches of the nest are more likely to become males. The ratio of females to males is already getting out of balance in some areas because of warming. At the same time, sea-level rise is eroding the beaches where turtles nest, threatening further habitat loss. 

Climate change is also affecting the marine environments and food sources upon which sea turtles depend. Of particular concern is the potential for increasing sea temperatures and ocean acidification to significantly degrade coral systems, an important feeding area for turtles.

Daily inspiration

Before leaving Hawaii, I purchased a print of two sea turtles made by a local artist.  In Hawaiian and translated in English below, the artist wrote “Righteous is the Turtle. Protect him!” Framed and hung at my bedside, this print is a daily reminder to slow down, see the big picture, and at the same time treasure the little moments. And, this print provides a daily inspiration to keep fighting for turtles and all the other righteous creatures.

For more inspiration, please check out these suggestions about how celebrate Endangered Species Day and to raise awareness about protecting endangered species.

Extra-Large Wildlife

Blue whales reach lengths of 110 feet (with females being bigger than males), making them the largest animals to ever live! They are also one of the loudest animals on Earth, songs can reach nearly 200 dB (louder than a jet engine!) and travel for hundreds of miles across the ocean.

For another animal with impressive length, here is a video of a 49 foot long python, being held in captivity in Indonesia. Over the centuries there have been many tales of giant snakes. This 983 pounder tells us the tales were mostly true. In recent years, pythons have become an extra-large threat to the Florida Everglades ecosystem, where pet owners have released the non-native species into the wild.

Similar tales of exotic wild creatures at sea may have been spawned by such as this 2,000 pound, nine foot long loggerhead turtle that, sadly, only came to view because it snagged in buoy cable. NWF and colleague organizations took many needed steps during the 2010 BP Gulf oil disaster to protect loggerheads and other turtle species.

We all know that giraffes are our tallest land animal and that some have reached heights in excess of 20 feet, but the world’s tallest subspecies of giraffe, the Rothschild, is now in danger of extinction.

Scientists exploring Madagascar reported the discovery of what is thought to be the world's smallest chameleon, Brookesia micra, a leaf chameleon. Photo by Glaw, F., et al., PLoS ONE

Extra-Small Wildlife

By contrast, the smallest of reptile was recently discovered in Madagascar: Brookesia micra. It is a tiny leaf chameleon that measures an inch when fully grown.  Recent efforts to inventory wild species in tropical forests are finding hundreds of previously undocumented species, including this little guy who lives in leaf litter and only comes out at night.

Speedy Birds

There are many record-breaking speedsters in the animal kingdom. The Peregrine falcon gets the nod for being able to dive at speeds close to 150 mph, but Siberia’s spine-tailed swift wins the overall prize for flying across the sky at 106 mph.

And while cheetahs are the fastest land animal, able to run at 70 mph, the ostrich is the fastest land bird, having been clocked at about 45 mph.

My favorite speedster may be the Gentoo penguin which can swim at about 25 mph through Antarctic seas. These penguins need their speed and smart maneuvering to keep from becoming food the large predators such as orcas. This two minute video, called Happy Gentoo, shows how this all works for a worn out but clever penguin being chased by a pod of orcas. It has a surprise ending you may like. By breaking a record, the little guy avoids becoming a statistic.

Big Leapers

The highest land-based leaper seems to be the cougar, which can jump straight up over 20 feet. The highest ocean leaper seems be a toss-up between orcas and sharks which can get themselves some 20 feet above the waves.

Southern cricket frogs are one of the best jumpers in the amphibian world, reaching heights of over 60 times their body length (that’s like a person jumping up a 38 story building!).

Eastern Hercules Beetle

Longest Commutes

The arctic tern seems to win in the “longest commute” category with its annual 21,000 mile round trip from pole to pole and the North American caribou does a 5,000 mile round trip on land.

Hercules! Hercules!

Last but not least, rhinoceros beetles–sometimes called Hercules beetles because they possess strength of a herculean proportions–can lift objects 850 times their weight. That would be equivalent to a human lifting 9 fully grown male elephants!

Protect Record-Breaking Wildlife

You can help wildlife – adopt your own record-breaking animal today! >>

Department of the Interior

•  The approval of this Administration’s 24^th and 25^th big renewable energy projects on public lands, the Sonoran Solar Energy Project (Arizona) and the Tule Wind Project (California), which together will provide 486 MW of clean electricity.
• The kickoff of a public comment period to collect information about the proposed route and environmental and commercial interest issues for the Atlantic Wind Connection, an undersea transmission line that has been proposed from New Jersey down to Virginia, with the goal of removing a key barrier to offshore wind energy generation far off our coasts.

It will be a huge challenge to replace fossil-energy sources at a both a large enough scale and at a fast enough pace to protect the wildlife and habitat we love from irreversible global warming impacts. We know that large-scale wind and solar energy projects, on both public and private lands and waters, will have to contribute to the solution, along with energy efficiency, solar roofs, and other actions.  So National Wildlife Federation has called on President Obama to have the courage to rapidly pursue big clean energy projects while simultaneously requiring wildlife-friendly approaches to development, preventing development in sensitive habitat, and driving clean energy to the lowest conflict locations.

Secretary Salazar’s announcements hold evidence that we can continue to be both smart and swift with clean energy.  An offshore transmission backbone should allow offshore wind energy to reach more of the public, and building the line far offshore will them make it more cost effective to place wind projects well clear of known migratory bird pathways much closer to shore.  Meanwhile, the environmental review process for the Sonoran Solar Project resulted in suggestions from local stakeholders and led the project proponent to reduce the project’s footprint by 1,600 acres and reduce the project’s water consumption by 98%!

Sea turtles off the Atlantic coast and our cherished Western landscapes are threatened by the increasingly intense impacts of climate change.  With wind and solar energy making up only around 3 percent of the nation’s overall electricity generation, NWF will keep leaning on decision-makers to protect our wildlife and habitat from carbon pollution by taking bold steps forward on clean energy.  And we’ll keep demanding the strongest standards and smartest planning to avoid negative impacts of clean energy development.

Help protect bighorn sheep by sending a message to the Department of Interior, urging it to move forward with wildlife-friendly solar energy development.

Selling for 11 cents more than individual First-Class Mail stamps, Save Vanishing Species stamps raise money for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Multinational Species Coalition, an alliance of conservationists, zoos, veterinarians, animal welfare groups, circuses and sportsmen. Illustrated by artist Nancy Stahl, the stamps feature and benefit tigers, rhinoceroses, great apes, Asian and African elephants, and sea turtles.

Struggling for Survival

Of the 7 species of sea turtles, 6 are found in U.S. waters (while the 7th is found only in Australia). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), all sea turtles occurring in U.S. waters are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Just two weeks ago, the status of five populations of loggerhead sea turtles changed from threatened to endangered.

As documented in a recent National Wildlife Federation report, sea turtles face a myriad of threats, including:

• destruction and alteration of nesting and foraging habitats,
• incidental capture in commercial and recreational fisheries,
• entanglement in marine debris, and
• vessel strikes

While strict regulations have been placed on commercial fishing practices, up to 4,600 sea turtles are killed annually, a number which could be vastly underestimated due to the lack of direct observation of turtle bycatch.

Speaking up for Sea Turtles

National Wildlife Federation is working on several fronts to help conserve sea turtles, including:

Shrimp trawlers who drag nets along the bottom of the ocean kill thousands of sea turtles annually. (Photo Credit: Thomas B McDonald)

• partnering with the Sea Turtle Conservancy in the wake of the BP oil spill disaster to rescue and relocate sea turtle eggs from oil spill-threatened shores,
• protecting prime turtle nesting habitat along the Florida coast, and
• calling for proper enforcement and observation of federal regulations requiring the use of turtle-excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawling.

By purchasing your own supply of Save Vanishing Species stamps (available in store or online), you can help sea turtles and other imperiled species, 11 cents at a time.

You can also support NWF’s endangered species conservation by making a symbolic adoption of a sea turtle. Adopt one today!

Obama Takes Two Big Steps Towards Making Nation’s Vehicles Cleaner

May 27, 2011 – On Wednesday, the Obama administration unveiled improved vehicle fuel efficiency labels. The new labels include expanded fuel efficiency information, cost savings, and vehicle pollution data. The Obama administration also showed it’s willing to lead by example, on Tuesday announcing the federal government will purchase 116 plug-in electric vehicles, including 101 Chevrolet Volts, and install charging stations in Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Federal Scientists Point to Shrimpers in Many Turtle Deaths

May 26, 2011 – Six times the annual average of sea turtles were stranded in the Gulf of Mexico last year and hundreds more have washed up this year. While the Gulf oil disaster was to blame for many of the deaths, just-released government documents obtained by the group Oceana are shedding new light on another cause:

More than a dozen e-mails, obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries service by the advocacy group Oceana, provide extensive evidence that shrimping vessels operating in the wake of the oil spill routinely failed to properly install “turtle excluder devices,” aimed at keeping imperiled turtle species out of their gear.

Casa Vinicola Zonin Donates Funds for Gulf Coast Restoration

May 26, 2011 – As clean-up continues one year after the Gulf oil spill disaster, Casa Vinicola Zonin USA presented the National Wildlife Federation with a $100,000 donation for Gulf coast restoration during a recent visit to NWF’s headquarters in Reston, VA.

Wildlife, Public Health Advocates Urge Tougher Limits on Toxic Air Pollutants

May 24, 2011 Clean air advocates urged the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to act quickly to rein in mercury, arsenic, dioxin and toxic air pollution rules at EPA’s hearings in Philadelphia, Chicago and Atlanta this week. The EPA is soliciting public comments on new rules to limit many forms of pollution toxic to people and wildlife. Hunters and anglers from around the country have been turning out to the hearings to testify.

Larry Schweiger’s Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth Wins Next Generation Indie Book Award

May 24, 2011 – The Next Generation Indie Book Awards has awarded National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Larry Schweiger their grand prize award for his book Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth. Schweiger’s book also took home the top prize in the category of Science/Nature/Environment. Published in 2009, Last Chance breaks down the science behind global climate change and offers practical solutions and actions to avert the worst consequences of global warming.

Mississippi River Flooding Impacts Wildlife and Ecology

May 23, 2011 – While flooding is a natural process and ultimately beneficial for wildlife, the enclosure of the Mississippi River has led to a unique event. The opening of two spillways in Louisiana to relieve pressure on the levees is funneling high waters into millions of acres of ordinarily-dry wildlife habitat. As a mass exodus of animals flee low-lying areas and search for higher ground, experts say better management of the river could more evenly distribute waters and make habitat flooding less severe.

NWF Co-Hosts Southeast Fair Climate Summit

May 23, 2011 – Social justice advocates, faith leaders, community members, and conservationists gathered in Jacksonville, FL on May 19-20 for the Southeast Fair Climate Summit. Hosted by National Wildlife Federation, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Democracia USA, St. Johns Riverkeeper and US Climate Action Network, the summit brought together community leaders to strengthen our collective understanding about the intersections between climate change, clean air and water, dirty energy, economic growth, and the health and safety of our communities.

And here are a few highlights from NWF in the News:

• Epoch Times: Natural Disaster May Not Be Natural, Says Group
• Reuters: Koch Bros. Accused of Stonewalling Congress on Their Keystone XL Pipeline Interest
• Baltimore Sun: Green Groups Seek to Defend Bay Pollution Diet

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News

So far, 65 of the dead dolphins have been babies. As National Wildlife Federation Senior Scientist Dr. Doug Inkley has reported, the dolphin death toll is at least 5 times higher than average. While it’s difficult to say exactly what killed the dolphins and multiple factors could be in play, it’s disturbing that BP oil continues to be found on dead dolphins:

Eight months after BP PLC capped the well that spewed 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, dolphins are washing ashore in east Louisiana with oil from that spill on their bodies — most recently two weeks ago, a federal stranding coordinator said Thursday.

Blair Mase, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, said oil may not have had anything to do with the animals’ deaths. The causes have not been determined, she said.

“We’re still seeing dolphins wash ashore with evidence of oil,” she said. She said 15 dolphins with some oil on them have been found since last April, when the Deepwater Horizon well blew wild, and eight of them bore oil from that well. One of those eight was found two weeks ago, she said in a teleconference Thursday.

NOAA continues posting dolphin data at its Unusual Mortality Event site. How long did it take the Gulf Coast to nearly meet its historical average of dead dolphins washing ashore in April? Three days. That’s right – 10 dead dolphins washed ashore in the first three days of April, just under the average of 11.5.

Additionally, 87 dead sea turtles have been found since mid-March in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. And according to a a new study, the number of dead dolphins and turtles that sink to the bottom of the ocean, never to be found, could be far higher than previously thought.

Speak Up for Dolphins and Sea Turtles

Please take a moment right now to ask your members of Congress to pass oil disaster response legislation that devotes fines and penalties to coastal wetlands restoration.

Learn more about the National Wildlife Federation’s response to the Gulf oil disaster at NWF.org/OilSpill.

Dolphins ride boat's wake off Mississippi, May 2010 (by NWF's Jeremy Symons)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has updated its website on the ongoing dolphin deaths in the Gulf of Mexico – and the news isn’t good.

“They are up to 145 stranded dolphins and 62 of those are babies. That’s up from 134 last week, with 59 babies,” reports Dr. Doug Inkley, the National Wildlife Federation’s senior scientist. “Because they aren’t releasing specific information about the individual animals found, it is a little hard to tell, but I can’t see any sign that there is a decline in this unusually high number of  total dolphin mortalities, although the proportion that are babies seems to be on the decline.”

Dr. Inkley says that so far in 2011, the dolphin death toll is at least 5 times higher than average.

The ongoing dolphin deaths aren’t the only concern for wildlife lovers right now. Reports say there’s now also a spike in the deaths of endangered sea turtles:

Since March 15, she noted, 39 deaths were confirmed in Mississippi, 4 in Alabama and 3 in Louisiana.

“The spring time is the typical time when turtle strandings in this region begin to increase,” Barclay added, “but the sharp increases in recent days are of concern.”

Sea turtle swims through oily gulf waters, May 2010

According to Dr. Inkley, endangered sea turtle stranding rates in March were 7 times higher than normal.

Only a fraction of marine life that dies of any cause will ever wash up on shore. But according to a new study, the number of dead dolphins and turtles that sink to the bottom of the ocean could be far higher than previously thought:

After analyzing historical data on populations and death rates of 14 species in the northern Gulf, the scientists determined that carcasses are found in only 2% of cetacean deaths.

“Thus, the true death toll could be 50 times the number of carcasses recovered, given no additional information,” they write, adding that they don’t know what the true figure is.

We’re still waiting to hear back on test results to see what might have killed these dolphins and turtles. Right now, scientists say the top suspects are:

• Unusually cold water in January & February
• Contamination from oil, dispersants, or both

Over the long run, the best thing we can do to help the Gulf’s wildlife survive is to commit to giving them a healthy place to live, feed, and raise their young.

Speak Up for Dolphins and Sea Turtles

Please take a moment right now to ask your members of Congress to pass oil disaster response legislation that devotes fines and penalties to coastal wetlands restoration.

Learn more about the National Wildlife Federation’s response to the Gulf oil disaster at NWF.org/OilSpill.