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Drilling Threatens
Seashore, Turtles |
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Park Service works to protect park resources during oil exploration.
PADRE ISLAND N.S., TEX.—Oil exploration is under way within Padre Island National Seashore, bringing heavy truck traffic that park advocates worry will disrupt visitors and threaten the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle.
The BNP Petroleum Corporation has already drilled a natural gas well within the park, bringing truck traffic along 15 miles of the Gulf beach. BNP intends to drill several more wells at the seashore.
"This could mean that, for the next five to ten years, visitors to the seashore would see heavy truck traffic running up and down the Gulf beach coast," said Randy Rasmussen, NPCA's Southwest regional program manager.
"There is no question that would be a huge impairment to visitor experience," he said. "Our national seashores should be places where the public can escape the crowding of large cities and enjoy a pristine beach setting."
In March, the National Park Service (NPS) released an environmental assessment for BNP's permit to drill its second and third wells at Padre Island. The Sierra Club, NPCA, and others criticized the study, stating it did not fully detail potential impacts to park visitors and the Kemp's ridley sea turtle.
They fear that the trucks will create deep ruts and prevent the turtles from crossing the beach and establishing their nests. Park staff have worked for more than two decades to restore nesting sites at Padre Island, with some success.
In response, the Park Service in late July released a revised study on the proposed wells. The study was open for public review through late August.
"It now has a very thorough analysis, especially for endangered and threatened species," said park Superintendent Jock Whitworth. "Our goal is to have the best program possible to manage oil and gas activities while protecting the park."
Responding to criticism, BNP officials have said that all steps are taken during drilling to ensure that nesting turtles will not be affected. Spokesman Scott Taylor has said trucks move slowly down the beach and that many BNP employees attended "turtle school"—training sessions with park staff about the turtles and their nesting habits.
Park officials also monitor the areas that trucks travel through, looking for tracks up to the sand left by the nesting turtles. When nests are found, park staff remove them from the beach and place them under incubation, said Donna Shaver-Miller, staff leader of the Padre Island Field Research Station.
The park has briefed BNP staff on what to look for during nesting so that they know what the tracks left by the turtles look like and can report them to park staff upon finding them.
When Congress established the seashore in 1962, it made provisions to allow mineral rights below the seashore to remain in state and private ownership. These rights can then be leased to developers, who must adhere to regulations designed to protect the parks. At press time, nearly 700 oil and gas wells existed in 13 national parks, NPS officials said.
Among those parks until recently was Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida. This spring, the Bush administration pledged $235 million to buy the preserve's mineral rights. Reaction among conservationists was mixed. While praising the administration for protecting the park, some asked why such a policy was not extended to other parks, such as Padre Island, which is in the president's home state.
They also noted the Bush administration's recent attempts to explore part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska for oil. Administration officials, however, have said that each case must be evaluated on its own merits.
The Bush administration has made no secret of its plan to expand oil and gas exploration on federal lands, which it says is necessary, as demand for natural gas continues and current gas wells tap out. Since exploration within parks does not seem likely to end anytime soon, it remains up to NPS to protect the parks.
"It's been the role of the Park Service to make sure that when (developers) access these areas, they do so with as little impact as possible," Whitworth said.
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