"The drilling is tearing up one Texas' best-loved parks, and it could hamper efforts to reestablish the turtle," said Fred Richardson, communications director for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "This is not about national energy independence. It's about a basic philosophical difference between the Bush Administration, which advocates drilling on protected public lands for the benefit of a select few, and millions of Americans who believe that there are special places that ought to be protected for our children and grandchildren."

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton is named as the defendant, along with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. Sierra is seeking a revocation of the Park Service's permit allowing the truck traffic and drilling activity.

"The law tells agencies to look before they leap, instead they're making it up as they go," said Sanjay Narayan, a Sierra Club attorney.

In February the National Park Service (NPS) approved a permit for BNP Petroleum, Inc. to establish a gas well in the dunes of the seashore. The permit allows BNP to send a dozen or more heavy trucks per day 15 miles south along the park's ocean-side beach to service the well pad. In the environmental assessment prepared by BNP and approved by NPS, no plan was devised for protecting Kemp's ridley turtles from truck traffic. The turtles begin nesting on the beach in April. Park managers assumed that start-up operations for the well, and accompanying truck traffic, would be completed before April.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that federal decision makers consider the environmental consequences of agency permitting decisions. Although it became clear in late March that intensive work on the well would continue into turtle nesting season, no additional analysis was prepared by NPS, and the project has been allowed to proceed without NEPA analysis of adverse impacts to nesting sea turtles.

Since 1978 the Park Service and other federal agencies have worked to establish Padre Seashore as a viable nesting site for the Kemp's ridley – the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world, with an adult population numbering only three to five thousand worldwide. The turtle's nesting period ranges from early April to July. Deep ruts created by heavy trucks and bulldozers servicing the gas well could prevent the turtles from crossing the beach and establishing their nests. The trucks also pose a threat to clutches of turtle eggs buried in the sand.

"With eighteen wheelers rolling down the beach, the island is starting to look more like the Jersey Turnpike than a national park," said Richardson. "This can't be good for the turtles, and the trucks are ruining the seashore for people who go there to fish, swim, picnic, or just find some peace and quiet."

BNP has announced plans for "an aggressive drilling campaign over the next several years" within the seashore. Park managers have stated that it is reasonable to expect 15 to 20 wells to be permitted for BNP within the next few years. Each new well could bring on three months or more of heavy truck traffic during the development phase. If BNP wins approval for 20 wells, there could be continuous heavy truck on the park beach for the next five years.

Padre Island National Seashore, the crown jewel of Texas beaches, encompasses 130,000 acres of barrier island habitat southeast of Corpus Christi, Texas. The park is the most visited public recreation area in Texas, drawing an average of 800,000 visitors a year. Padre Island is the longest unbroken barrier beach in the United States, and the longest undeveloped barrier beach in the world. The seashore is home to 13 endangered or threatened species, including the Kemp's ridley, loggerhead, green, and hawksbill sea turtles.

The Bush Administration has proposed a vast expansion of oil and gas exploration on federal lands. In the early months of 2001, a co-owner of BNP met with Bush Administration officials to discuss regulatory matters related to the park. According to a March 27 news account in the McAllen Monitor, the BNP official "lobbied to reverse a proposed ruling from U.S. Fish and Wildlife that would have included Padre Island National Seashore in the critical habitat designation for the endangered piping plover."

To receive a copy of the complaint by fax, please contact Fred Richardson at the number above. The complaint was delivered to the Federal Courthouse in Corpus Christi on the morning of Thursday, April 18.

The telephone number for Padre Island National Seashore is (361) 949-8173. Jock Whitworth is the superintendent. Ken McMullen is the Chief of the Resource Protection Division.