News Release

Padre Island National Seashore announces $153,000 project to analyze rising sea level impacts on sea turtles

A kemp's ridley sea turtle digging a nest on the beach.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: April 19, 2024

Contact: Kelly Taylor, Public Information Officer, 361-949-8173 ext. 427 (office), 361-446-9074 (cell)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Padre Island National Seashore has secured an additional $153,000 in project funding from the National Park Service Natural Resource Fund Source to investigate the impacts of sea level rise on sea turtle nests. The research will allow park scientists and partners to assess coastal impacts from climate change and the effects of nuisance flooding on nesting sea turtles, including the endangered Kemp’s ridley. 

The National Park Service will partner with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) on the field research. TAMU-CC will measure the sea level and the park’s coastline using mobile LiDAR surveys during the summer of 2024 sea turtle nesting season. Data collected will be used to develop a risk assessment model that will quantify inundation risk for sea turtle nests. 

This project is part of a comprehensive effort to better understand and protect the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle population that use the park as a nesting ground. This new study will compliment two other recently federally-funded projects that also focus on Kemp’s ridley sea turtle protection and management. The first project provided $200,000 to the U.S. Geological Survey to determine survival rates and resource use patterns of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. The second provided $100,000 to research the emerging incidence of fibropapillomatosis, a wildlife disease, in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. 

Padre Island’s Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery focuses on the protection and conservation of five species of sea turtles - Kemp's ridley, green, loggerhead, hawksbill, and leatherback. Its work is an important part of global efforts to save sea turtles and the park is proud to partner with the many volunteers, organizations, and local community to help recover these iconic species. 

About Padre Island National Seashore 

Padre Island National Seashore preserves, protects and interprets the outstanding natural, cultural and recreational resources of the longest undeveloped barrier island beach in the United States and its surrounding waters for public benefit, inspiration and scientific understanding. The park’s 130,000 acres and waters provide important habitat for marine and terrestrial plants and animal, including over 150 species of special concern. 

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