Don't Mess With Texas - Navy abandons consideration of Padre Island National Seashore as replacement for bombing range on Puerto Rican island of Vieques - Brief Article

Shopping around for a replacement for its unpopular bombing range on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, the Navy chose an unpopulated spot on the south Texas shoreline. To reach the land from ships offshore, the Navy planned to send amphibious assault vehicles tearing across the dunes of Padre Island National Seashore, an island just off the coast. At 70 miles long and one-half to three miles wide, Padre Island is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world.

But the Navy had to hold its fire. For 20 years, biologists at Padre Island have labored to save sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, all species of which are either endangered or threatened with extinction. Padre Island is now the site of a turtle-repopulation project. To protect eggs and hatchlings from predators, volunteers and staff search for nests and collect eggs for incubation. Once the turtles hatch, they must be released immediately so that their frenetic energy can carry them into the sea. According to Coastal Bend Group member Mina Williams, "the sight is awe-inspiring."

"I can't describe how the Navy's idea offended thousands of south Texans," says Williams. "It was beyond bizarre. It was reckless. The military maneuvers would have done irreparable damage to the dunes and the sea grass and the wildlife they support. That would have been the end of the turtles."

Five thousand angry Texans were poised to march in protest when in July the Navy suddenly decided the site was "impractical" and removed it from its prospect list--for now. "We're staying on the alert," says Coastal Bend Group chair Pat Suter, who heads a new coalition of environmentalists, fishermen, birders, religious groups, and other concerned citizens called SOS, Save Our Seashore, to guard against a sneak naval attack.

* To spotlight Sierra Club activism in your area, contact Elisa Freeling at Sierra, 85 Second St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441; e-mail elisa.freeling@sierra club.org; fax (415) 977-5794.