VICTORY FOR SEA TURTLES THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!

[OneCrow]

I RECEIVED THIS LETTER YESTERDAY AND WANTED TO PASS ALONG THE GOOD NEWS AND SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO SIGNED THE PETITION! WE HAVE MADE
A DIFFERANCE!

Dear Judith OneCrow,
I'm happy to report that there's finally a glimmer of good news for wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.

Today, in response to heavy public criticism and facing a lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity and our partners, BP
and the U.S. Coast Guard backed down and agreed to stop letting
endangered sea turtles be burned alive during surface-oil cleanup
operations.

This is a major stride in protecting these important, rare animals,
including the highly endangered Kemp's ridley -- already under assault
from the millions of gallons of toxic oil gushing into its marine and
coastal environment.

Today's big announcement came just moments before a court hearing in New Orleans on our lawsuit
brought with Turtle Island Restoration Network, Animal Welfare
Institute and Animal Legal Defense Team. We're being represented in the
suit by Meyer Gliztenstein & Crystal of Washington, D.C. The
lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order on oil-burning activities.

And it comes after your support earlier this week when we turned the
public spotlight on BP by hand-delivering tens of thousands of petition
signatures to the oil company, calling for an end to this gruesome
practice. It means so much to be able to count on you when it's needed
most for the imperiled plants, animals and wild spaces we work to
protect. Thank you.

But it's not over yet. We'll need your continued help in supporting
efforts to hold BP and the government accountable -- not only to
safeguard sea turtles but to ensure that this mess is properly cleaned
up and that a similar offshore drilling disaster never happens again.

Thanks again for your help in protecting endangered sea turtles in the
Gulf, and I hope you share in this victory as you head into the holiday
weekend.

Sincerely,

Kierán Suckling Executive Director Center for Biological Diversity

P.S. Here's more on this breaking news from The Washington Post.

Settlement Reached on Guarding Against Burning Deaths of Sea Turtles in Gulf
The Washington Post // July 2, 2010
by Juliet Eilperin

The Coast Guard and BP reached a settlement Friday with environmental
groups over the issue of how best to guard against accidentally killing
endangered sea turtles during controlled burns in the Gulf of Mexico
aimed at curbing the oil spill's spread.

Three environmental groups -- the Center for Biological Diversity, the
Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Animal Defense League -- had
sued in federal court in New Orleans on Wednesday, charging that oil
spill responders had taken inadequate precautions while conducting the
controlled burns. While activists have not found charred remains of
endangered Kemp's Ridley or other sea turtles in the region, they
argued the animals are at risk because they tend to congregate in
sargassum, seagrasses that burn crews frequently target.

Under the settlement, the two sides have agreed the Coast Guard will
soon convene a group of scientists to determine how best to ensure that
no endangered sea turtles die during controlled burns. The
environmental groups will have input into assembling the group of
experts, and the protocol scientists devise will be put on a fast track
for public comment so it can be finalized quickly.

"Sea turtles are already suffering catastrophically from the oil spill
and it would be outrageous to add insult to injury by burning them
alive in the spill cleanup effort," said the Center for Biological
Diversity's executive director Kieran Suckling in an interview. "It's a
no-brainer to put sea turtle observers on the cleanup boasts and whisk
the turtles out of the oil pools before they're set on fire."

No burning will take place in the gulf before Tuesday, because of poor
weather conditions, and by then BP and the Coast Guard must inform the
environmental groups whether they are prepared to put scientific
observers on every burn boat to identify and remove all turtles before
any burns resume.

If they can not make that assurance, Suckling said, the plaintiffs "will be back" in court challenging the controlled burns.

Neither the Coast Guard nor BP could be immediately reached for comment.

[OneCrow]

Your very welcome! Blessings!

[Karen Kline]

Finally some good news from the gulf, thanks for posting... :)