We, the undersigned, are scientists united in our concern over protecting endangered sea turtles and marine biodiversity and support the creation of the Kemp's Ridley Marine Reserve along Padre Island, Texas. This region supports the only known U.S. nesting grounds for the world's most endangered sea turtle, the Kemp's ridley. Unfortunately, it is also the region where the largest number of dead adult Kemp's ridley sea turtles strand in the United States, most associated with commercial fishing activities.

We believe that the creation of a marine reserve closed to commercial fishing along Padre Island, Texas, (100 miles in length, out to a depth of 20 fathoms, a distance 17 nautical miles) will not only protect Kemp's ridley sea turtles as they nest and migrate through this region, but will also protect a wide array of marine wildlife.

Creation of this marine reserve will, for the first time, protect a significant representative zone of marine biodiversity in the neritic zone of the Gulf of Mexico.

In March of 1999, nearly 700 participants of the 19TH ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON SEA TURTLE BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION passed a resolution stating the need to create a no commercial fishing zone marine reserve along Padre Island, Texas, to protect endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles that migrate and nest there. That resolution clearly expressed the specific reasons why this critically endangered species needed additional protection, especially in this specific region including:

o The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world and at least 40,000 Kemp's ridley females used to nest annually and now less than 2,000 females nest annually;

o Padre Island is an important part of the Kemp's ridley migratory corridor, feeding area and breeding ground;

o Half of all dead adult Kemp's ridley sea turtles found stranded in the United States during the last five years were located at Padre Island

o The Mexican government has donated tens of thousands of Kemp's ridley sea turtle eggs to the United States in an attempt to create a viable nesting colony of Kemp's ridley sea turtles at Padre Island;

o The Mexican government has seasonally closed the marine areas surrounding the major nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo to commercial fishing activities, and thus greatly reduced the mortality of nesting turtles as they migrate to and from their nesting sites; and

o the ratio of dead adults to Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests found during the 1998 mating and nesting season was 620 times higher at Padre Island National Seashore than at the protected nesting site in Mexico, Rancho Nuevo;

While protection of the Kemp's ridley is extremely important, we wish to express our view that the creation of this Reserve will provide additional benefits to the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, through protection of a wide array of biological diversity of this region, and creating a minimally exploited area for comparative research opportunities. Ultimately, this protection has the potential to reap additional economic, educational and recreational benefits for the American public.

We encourage Texas Governor George W. Bush and federal authorities to work to create the Kemp's Ridley Marine Reserve.


David Owens
Director
Graduate Program in Marine Biology
Grice Marine Lab
University of Charleston
Charleston, SC USA

Larry B. Crowder
Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology
Nicholas School of the Environment
Duke University Marine Laboratory
Beaufort, NC USA

Sylvia A. Earle
Explorer in Residence
National Geographic Society
Washington, D. C. USA

Thomas Eisner
Schurman Professor of Biology
Cornell University
Syracuse, NY USA

Rene Marquez.
Coordinador
Programa Nacional de Investigacion de Tortugas Marinas
Centro Regional de Investigacion Pesquera
Manzanillo, Colima, MEXICO

Karen A. Bjorndal
Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research
Department of Zoology
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida USA

A.C. Alcala
Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation
University Research Professor
Silliman University
Phillipines

Noah Idechong
Executive Director
Palau Conservation Society
Palau

Elliott A. Norse,
President
Marine Conservation Biology Institute
Redmond, WA USA

Les Watling
Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation
Professor of Oceanography
Darling Marine Center
University of Maine
Walpole ME USA

Carl Safina
Vice President for Marine Conservation
National Audubon Society, USA
Author, Song for the Blue Ocean

Karen Eckert
Executive Director
Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST)
USA

Dr. Eugene K. Balon
University Professor Emeritus
Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Biology of Fishes
Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology
University of Guelph, Canada

Dagmar Fertl, M.Sc
Biologist
Minerals Management Service, U.S. Dept of Interior

Wallace J. Nichols
Research Associate
Department of Herpetology
California Academy of Sciences, USA

David C. Powell
Director of Live Exhibits- retired
Monterey Bay Aquarium, USA

David Epel
Professor
Stanford University, USA

Larisa Avens
Doctoral candidate
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, USA

James S. Clegg
Professor
Bodega Marine Laboratory
University of California, Davis, USA

Tricia Potter
Field Biologist
Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management
USA

Frithjof Christian Kuepper,
Diplom-Biologe
University of Konstanz, Germany

Frank V. Paladino Ph.D
Professor and Chairman of Biology
Indiana-Purdue University, USA

Jane A. Provancha
Dynamac-Program Manager
Conservation Group Leader
Patrick Air Force Base, FL USA

Jennifer Keller
Duke University, USA

James F. Case
Professor
Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara
USA

Sue Ranger
People's Trust for Endangered Species

Suzanne Koptur, Ph.D.
Professor, Biological Sciences
Florida International University, USA

Professor Martin Willison
Dalhousie University, Canada

Prof. David W. Dunham
Associate Chair
Graduate Department of Zoology
University of Toronto, Canada

James W Valentine
Professor of Integrative Biology, Emeritus
University of California, Berkeley

Jeanette Wyneken
Research Assistant Professor
Florida Atlantic University, USA

T. Todd Jones
Florida Atlantic University, USA

Ken Deslarzes
Biologist
USDOI/Minerals Management Service, USA

David Houle
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Biological Science
Florida State University, USA

Charles H. Peterson
Alumni Distinguished Professor
Univ of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Brian Riewald
Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, USA

Daniel DiResta
Coordinator, Marine and Atmospheric Science Program
University of Miami, USA

Dr. David F. Steele
Research Scientist
Dept. of Physiology
University of British Columbia, Canada

Christine Butler
Research Support Specialist
Cornell University, USA

Bruce G. Baldwin
Associate Professor
Integrative Biology and Curator
Jepson Herbarium
University of California, Berkeley, USA

Andrea Wickham
Wildlife Rehabilitation Coordinator
University of Texas Marine Science Institute, USA

Susan Scott
Department of Zoology & Entomology
University of Queensland, Australia

Michelle Lee
Grice Marine Laboratory
University of Charleston, SC USA

Erin Seney_
U. of Virginia, USA

Susan Schaf
Animal & Education Coordinator
The Turtle Hospital, USA

Thomas Bartlett
Grice Marine Lab
University of Charleston
Charleston, SC USA

Anthony C. Steyermark
UCLA School of Medicine
USA

Dr Ross Goldingay
Lecturer in Wildlife Biology
School of Resource Science & Management
Southern Cross University
Australia

Todd Marse
Physical Scientist
Minerals Management Service, USA

Dr Rod Kennett
Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Indigenous Natural and Cultural and Resource Management, Northern Territory University, Australia

Brandon Smith
Florida Institute of Technology, USA

Amanda Jaksha
University of Arizona, USA

Edna J. Stetzar
Assistant Coordinator
Delaware Marine Mammal/Sea Turtle Stranding Program, USA

Russell Long, Ph.D.
Exec. Dir.
Bluewater Network
San Francisco CA USA

Anthony C. Poponi
Research Scientist
Sea Turtle Preservation Society Foundation, USA

Kimberly Andrews
University of Georgia, USA

Heather Kalb Ph.D.
Texas A&M University
USA

Dr. Paul Broady
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Bonnie Brewer
Research Assistant
USA

Petra Kauppert
College of Charleston, USA

Dr. Richard Gordon,
Radiology
U. Manitoba, Canada

Micha Ilan, Ph.D.
Senior lecturer of Zoology
Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University

Jodene Eldstrom
Dept. of Physiology,
University of British Columbia, Canada

Sara Pont Gasau
Biologist
Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center
Barcelona, Spain

Dietmar Funck
ZMBP Tuebingen

Jan Henning Steffen
Marine Program Advisor
KEHATI-The Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation
Indonesia

Chantal Hagen
University of Manchester, UK

Steven Green
Professor of Biology and Chairman of the Faculty Senate
University of Miami, USA

Sarah Broadley
Cornell University, USA

Leonel Sternberg
Professor
University of Miami, USA

Kristina Williams
Director-Caretta Research Project
Savannah Science Museum, USA

Colin Hughes,
Department of Biology,
University of Miami, USA

Robert P. Burchard
Prof. Emeritus of Biological Sciences
U. of MD Baltimore County, USA

David P. Janos
Associate Professor of Biology
Department of Biology
University of Miami, USA

Jennifer Koslow
University of Miami, USA

Eve Haverfield
Director
Turtle Time, Inc., USA

Larry Griffing
Associate Professor
Biology Dept, Texas A&M University, USA

Patrick Bockheim
Biology Department
Grand Rapids Community College, USA

David L. Wilson
Professor of Biology
University of Miami, USA

Tralau, Tewes
Biologist
Department of biology
University of Konstanz, Germany

GM Branch
Professor
Marine Biology ResearchInstitute
University of Cape Town, South Africa

Michael Robinson
Department of Biology, University of Miami

Kristina Kichler Holder
Section of Integrative Biology
School of Biological Sciences
University of Texas at Austin

Michael G. Frick
Assistant Director
Caretta Research Project, USA

Richard P. Reading
Director of Conservation Biology
Denver Zoological Foundation, USA

Julian C. Lee
Professor of Biology
University of Miami, USA

Russell Day
Grice Marine Lab
Univ. of Charleston, USA

Dr. David F. Steele
Dept. of Physiology
University of British Columbia, Canada

Michael_Salmon
Professor
Florida Atlantic University, USA

Sir Nicholas Nuttall
Chairman
Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation, Bahamas

Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas
Professor Emeritus
Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon
President
Bioconservacion, A.C.. Mexico
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Christina McCain
University of Miami, USA

Richard Rosenblatt
Professor of Marine Biology
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA

Erin Rickard
Animal Science Major
University of Maryland, USA

Robert Boulis
CISSP
USA

Dana M. Krempels, Ph.D.
Director of Undergraduate Studies; Lecturer
University of Miami Department of Biology, USA

John H. Stadler
Research Associate
Dept. of Biology, University of Miami, USA

Sarah Kingston
Grice Marine Lab
University of Charleston, SC, USA

Dr. Donelle Trautman
University of Sydney, Australia

Dr Bill Ballantine
Marine Biologist
Leigh Marine Laboratory,
University of Auckland, New Zealand

Dr. Nicolas J. Pilcher
Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Malaysia

Thomas Dellinger
Professor
University of Madeira, Portugal

Cecilia Davis-Taylor
Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, Inc, USA

Bivash Pandav
Scientist
Wildlife Institute of India, India

Denise Shipley
GTA at University of Texas at Arlington, USA
IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group

Michael V. Plummer, Ph.D.
Chair, Conservation Committee
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, USA

Luis Jorge Rivera-Herrera
Environmental Scientist
San Juan Bay Estuary Program, USA

B.C. Choudhury
Scientist `SF'
Wildlife Institute of India, India

Mary Ann Lucking
Project Coordinator
CORALations, Puerto Rico, USA

Jacques Fretey
IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group

Zahirul Islam
Biologist
Sea Turtle Conservation Network(STURCNET)
MarineLife Alliance, Bangladesh

Mayra E. Suárez-Vélez
Marine Advisor
Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service, Virgin Islands

Charles Avenengo, USA

Dr. Katharina Fabricius
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia

Mary Duffy
President
Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, Inc., USA

Dana Biasatti
Southern Methodist University, Department of Geological
Sciences, Dallas, Texas, USA

Paul K. Dayton
Professor
University of California, USA

Julio Santiago
UPR-HUMACAO
Undergraduate program in WildLife Management
University of Puerto Rico, USA

Dr. Jeremy Woodley
Advisor, ex-Director, Centre for Marine Sciences,
University of the West Indies (Mona), Jamaica

David C. Rostal
Associate Professor
Georgia Southern University, USA

Lori Scinto
Environmental Scientist
Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team, USA

Marion Preest
Assissant. Professor
The Claremont Colleges, USA

Erin McMichael
Assistant Biologist
Florida Fish & Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit
University of Florida, USA

Judy McCain
Science Department Chairperson
North Ridgeville H.S. (OH), USA

Alexander Stone
Executive Director
ReefKeeper International
Miami, FL, USA

David S. Addison
Biologist
The conservancy of Southwest Florida, USA

Rick Haeffner
Curator
Reptiles/Fishes
Denver Zoo, USA

Rebecca Umpierre
San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

Jill Goldman
Behavioural Scientist
York University, Canada

Laszlo Szekely, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center
Karolinska Institute,
Stockholm, Sweden

Daniel R. Brooks
Professor
University of Toronto, Canada

Cynthia J. Lagueux, Ph.D.
Associate Conservation Zoologist
Wildlife Conservation Society, USA

Christine Drea
Assistant Professor
Duke University, USA

Sarah Hopfensperger
Grice Marine Laboratory
University of Charleston, USA

Ronald Reuven Walder
Marine Biologist
SPAWN, USA

Camila Martinez
Director
Institute of Traditional Native Medicine, USA

Peter McRoy
Professor
University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA

Michael Aw
Chairman
OceanEnvironment

Simon Enderby
Underwater cameraman
Scubazoo Image

Simon Christopher
Marine Biologist
Scubazoo Image

Jason Isley
Marine Biologist
Scubazoo Image

John G. Frazier
Professor Titular
CINVESTAV
Mexico
and
Research Associate
Conservation and Research Center
Smithsonian Institution, USA

Fernando J. Bird-Picó, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Curator of Herpetology
University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, USA

Mark S. Garland
Senior Naturalist
Audubon Naturalist Society, USA

Lisa Marie Kruse
University of Georgia Department of Botany, USA

Kartik Shanker
Research Associate
Wildlife Institute of India, India

Lily Venizelos
President
Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtle-Medasset
Greece

Daniel Lusche
Dipl.Bio
University of Konstanz
Germany

Vidyanand Nanjundiah
Professor
Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, India

Joca Thomé
Oceanografo
Projeto TAMAR, Brazil

Susana Clusella
Indiana Purdue University at Fort Wayne, USA

Nicole Rosmarino
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

Milagros López Mendilaharsu
Lic. en Ciencias Biológicas.
Fac. de Ciencias. Sección Oceanografía.Universidad de la República.
Montevideo, Uruguay.

Jairo Castro-Montero
Coordinador Programa de Voluntarios
Proyecto Conservación de Tortugas Marinas en Playa Gandoca
Asociación ANAI, Costa Rica

Sebastian Troëng
Research Coordinator
Caribbean Conservation Corporation, Costa Rica

Aline Xavier
Universidad Veiga de Almeida
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ana Trujillo
Investigador Grupo de Trabajo de Tortugas Marinas
Venezuela

Steve Cornelius
Borderlands Program Director
Sonoran Institute

Brigita Arrowsmith
School of Resource Science & Management
Southern Cross University, Australia

Eilis Nic Dhonncha
Researcher
Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute
National University of Ireland, Ireland

Alfredo Arteaga
Biologo, Venezuela

Thushan Kapurusinghe
Project Leader
Turtle Conservation Project (TCP)-Sri Lanka

Dr. Georgina Espinosa-Lopez.
Ciencias Biológicas
Profesor de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular Genetista de poblaciones
Cuba

AndrÈs Fernando Ortega Guio
Biologo
Unv. Incca de Colombia

Alejandro Arenas Martinez
Parque Xcaret, Q,Roo México
Programa de tortugas Marinas
Xcaret

Alejandro Arenas Martinez
Parque Xcaret, Q,Roo México
Programa de tortugas Marinas
Xcaret

Nancy J. Clum
Assistant Professor
DePaul University

Clint Marsillius
Marine Biologist
Danish Hydraulic Institute, Malaysia

Adam Michael
Member, Indo-Pacific Sea Turtle Conservation Group

Carlos Hernán Pinzón
Ingeniero Pesquero
Coordinador Caribe Central Colombiano
Colombia

Elizabeth M. Coscia
Ph.D.
University of CA, Berkeley

MaElena Sanchez
President
Teyeliz, A.C.

Hedelvy J. Guada
Lic. Biologia
Red para la Conservacion de las Tortugas Marinas en el Gran
Caribe –WIDECAST

Javier Vasconcelos Perez.
Biologo.Director del Centro Mexicano de la tortuga
Instituto Nacional de la Pesca
Mexico

Rahsiduzzaman Ahmed
Program Officer
IUCN Bangladesh

Susan M.Lewton
Purdue University

Donna Burovac
Teacher and Department Chair
Strongsville High School

Héctor Barrios Garrido
Bachiller en Ciencias
Grupo de Trabajo de Tortugas Marinas del Golfo de Venezuela

Dr. Lynette McLamb, MD
Staff Physician
Department of Public Health, San Francisco, USA

Annette Paulin
Project Manager
Azurea, Inc, USA

Eva Zobeley
Biologist
Chekoslavakia

Maria ngela Marcovaldi
Presidente
Fundação Pró-TAMAR – Brasil

Gabriel Schaaf
University of Tübingen, Germany

Héctor Trinidad
Université du Québec à Rimouski, Québec, CANADA

Walter Vaughan Rojas
Vocal
Nicambiental, Nicaragua

Mr. John Collie
Managing Director
Marine Parks Authority,Seychelles

Doug R. Myers
Wetlands and Habitat Specialist
Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team, USA

Kimberle Stark
Water Quality Planner
King County Dept. of Natural Resources
Marine Monitoring & Assessment, USA

Anjali Pande
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Roberto Herrera Pavon
Tecnico Titular
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (Unid. Chetumal)
Mexico

Nicola Alcock
NIWA, New Zealand

E. K. Nareshwar
India

Lisa Kruse
Department of Botany
University of Georgia, USA

Raja Bidin Raja Hassan
Research Officer
Malaysia

M. Mokhlesur Rahman
Executive Director
Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS), Bangladesh

David Ayala Estevez
Instituto de BiologÌa EcologÌa Y ConservaciÛn
Mexico

George Loeb
Research Prof. in Biology
American University, USA

Enriqueta Beatriz Ramirez Menjivar
Universidad de El Salvador, El salvador

Caroline Bennett
USA

Cathryn Turnbull
Wildlife Officer, National Parks and Wildlife Division,
Sarawak Forest Department,
Malaysia

Loh Pei Sun
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Malaysia

Tim White
Professor
Department of Integrative Biology
U.C. Berkeley, USA

Paul Licht
Dean, Biological Sciences
University of California, Berkeley, USA

Roy L. Caldwell
Chancellor's Professor
University of California at Berkeley, USA

Walter Koenig
Research Zoologist
Univ. Calif. Berkeley, USA

James L. Patton
Professor and Curator
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology,
University of California, Berkeley, USA

Andrew Biewener
Professor
Harvard, USA

David Haig
Professor
Harvard, USA

Thelma Rowell
Professor emerita
Dept Integrative Biology
UC Berkeley, USA

Charles S. Nicoll
Professor
Univ. of California, Berkeley, USA

James W Golden
Professor
Texas A&M Biology, USA

L. Griffin
Associate Professor
Texas A&M University at Galveston, USA

Michael D. Manson, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology
Texas A&M University, USA

Rodolfo Aramayo
Assistant Professor
Texas A&M University, USA

Ira G. Greenbaum
Professor
Department of Biology
Texas A&M University, USA

Charles H. Coleman Jr
Lecturer-Marine Science/Dir. Geol. Labs.
Texas A&M Univ. Galveston, USA

Dr. Bobby J. Presley
Department of Oceanography
Texas A&M University, USA

Ayal Anis
Asst. Prof.
Texas A&M at Galveston, USA

Dr. Tim Scott
Associate Dean
College of Science
Texas A&M University, USA

Vincent M. Cassone, PhD
Professor of Biology
Chair, Interdisciplinary Faculty of Neuroscience
Texas A&M University, USA

Deborah Siegle
Associate Professor, Biology Dept.
Texas A&M University, USA

Stuart A. Altmann
Lecturer/Professor, Dept, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Princeton University, USA

Kai Chan
Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Princeton University, USA

Martha Scott
Assoc Prof, Oceanography
Texas A&M University, USA

Leila Hadj-Chikh
Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Princeton University, USA

Robin D. Knight
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Princeton University, USA

W. Mark Roberts, Ph.D.
Lecturer
Princeton University, USA

Lee Worden
Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics,
Princeton University, USA

Dr. Lukas Keller
Princeton University, USA

Marian Diamond
Professor of Integrative Biology
UC Berkeley, USA

Simon Levin
Professor
Princeton University, USA

James Hanken
Professor and Curator
Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA

Trish Turner-Gillespie
Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Princeton University, USA

Tatjana Good
Princeton University, USA

Dr. Douglas Biggs
Department of Oceanography
Texas A&M University, USA

Dr. Peter D. Walsh
Visiting Research Fellow
Princeton University, USA

Kenneth Petren, Ph.D.
Asst. Professor
University of Cincinnati, USA

Phillip Bower
Penn State University, USA

Shannon Cox
Univeristy of South Carolina Honors College, USA

Corrie H. Robb
Sonoma State University, USA

Peter S. Ashton
Bullard Research Professor of Forestry
Harvard University, USA

Gustavo E. Zea
Princeton University, USA

Luela P Roberts
University of New Mexico, USA

Lockey White
Lewis & Clark, USA

James W. Valentine
Professor of Integrative Biology, Emeritus
University of California, Berkeley, USA

Colleen M. Cavanaugh
Professor of Biology
Harvard University, USA

Prof. Dr. G. E. Hite
Professor of Oceanography
Texas A&M University Galveston, USA

Jessica Hope Whiteside
Department of Earth and Environment
Mount Holyoke College, USA

Kyle Cole, Ph.D.
Yale University, USA

Nancy Rosenbaum
Lecturer
Yale University, USA

Carol B. Johnson
Lecturer
Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, USA

Nicole Reed
Udall scholar, USA

Willard D. Hartman
Professor Emeritus of Biology
Yale University, USA

* Organizations listed for affiliation purposes only.