Jack,
Right now, threatened and endangered sea turtles are fighting
their way through oil coated waters in their annual migration to their
nesting grounds – fighting for their very survival because of
reckless drilling off our coasts.
The Gulf oil disaster couldn’t have come at a worse time for sea
turtles. It started just days before they must
return to shore to nest and lay their eggs.
Please help save sea turtles threatened by the massive offshore oil
disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Like humans, sea turtles will die from ingesting too much oil. And like
us, they can drown. Sea turtles need to surface to breathe, which is
hard to do when the ocean’s surface is coated with oil. Other wildlife
will need our help, but first the sea turtles…
Please support our work in the coming days to save these threatened and
endangered sea turtles. Donate now.
I’ve just completed a tour
of some of the many wildlife refuges on the Gulf threatened by the
offshore oil drilling crisis, including Bon Secour National Wildlife
Refuge in Alabama – an important nesting area for threatened loggerhead
sea turtles that are fighting their way to shore right now.
It doesn’t take a wildlife expert to know that sea turtles need oil-free
beaches and waters to survive…especially during nesting season
and immediately after, when their hatchlings must return to
sea.
Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen and I have
already directed our staff to make emergency response to the offshore
oil crisis our immediate priority.
Your
tax-deductible donation today of whatever you can afford
will help support Defenders of Wildlife’s emergency
three-point strategy to address this crisis:
 Point
1. Emergency Response for Sea Turtles
Threatened and endangered sea turtles are in waters off the Florida
Panhandle right now. And females are expected to begin laying eggs
within the week.
Our Florida staff is heading to some of the Sunshine State’s most
important nesting grounds to assist with the clean-up and rehabilitation
of oil-soaked sea turtles and other wildlife impacted by the spill. In
the weeks ahead, we will recruit and train more volunteers to assist
with these efforts.
The response to this disaster could well determine the fate of the next
generation of loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and other threatened and
endangered sea turtles, so
it’s vital that we act now.
Help save sea turtles…
 Point
2. Prevent the Next Offshore Oil Disaster.
On July 1st,
Shell Oil plans to begin offshore drilling operations in the remote and
harsh waters of the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska – setting the
stage for America’s next great drilling disaster.
Since Monday, we have mobilized more than 51,000 Defenders supporters
to urge President Obama to reinstate the ban on offshore drilling that
protected our coasts for 27 years and to rescind Shell’s permits to
conduct exploratory drilling in this vital habitat for America’s
threatened polar bears, bowhead whales and other wildlife.
Yesterday, we joined with Native Alaskans and other allies to challenge
Shell’s permits at a federal court hearing in Portland, OR. This week,
we called on Congress to stop promoting offshore drilling. And next
week, we will urge the U.S Senate to pass legislation that moves America
away from its dangerous dependence on fossil
fuels and addresses the impacts of climate change on wildlife like our
vulnerable sea turtles without sacrificing our coasts.
Help
prevent the next offshore oil disaster…
 Point
3. Document the Crisis and Educate the Public.
Working with people like Defenders Board member and world-famous
wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin, photojournalist Krista Schlyer, and
others, we’re helping to highlight the terrible implications of the Gulf
offshore oil spill through compelling images and informed first-hand
accounts… so that a tragedy like this never happens again.
Defenders Senior Marine Policy Advisor Richard Charter is working with
some of the top data analysts in the country to predict the spill’s
trajectory, providing expert analysis on the technical perils of
offshore drilling in the media, and working with policy makers to
address the crisis.
This week,
we launched a new blog, where we will provide
up-to-the-minute news and analysis on wildlife impacted by the spill.
Help us document the crisis and educate the public…
The massive gulf oil spill is now just a few miles from
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge and other critical nesting sites for
threatened and endangered sea turtles. And the toxic tide could hit
other vital nesting sites on the Florida Panhandle as early as next
week.
The annual cycle of sea turtle reproduction leaves no time for delay! We
must act now to save these sea turtles. To do so, we – and the
sea turtles – desperately need your help.
Please make your tax-deductible contribution today.
With Gratitude,
 |
Jamie Rappaport Clark
Executive Vice President
Defenders of Wildlife |
P.S. We need your support to respond to this crisis.
Please make a secure donation online now or call
1-800-385-9712 to contribute by phone. |
