Corpusfishing.com

[gonefishing]

Joe Escoto, the superintendent of PINS, attempts to explain the rationale behind the new seasonal 15 mph speed limit. He also goes so far to reassure us that there is no proposal to close the first 30 miles of PINS.

"Contrary to recent comments in the 'Caller-Times,' there is no proposal to close the first 30 miles of Padre Island National Seashore to beach driving."

later in the article Escoto further continues around this thread, without directly mentioning it. "Some think that we do not care about park visitors, but that is not so. Why preserve an area if we do not intend for anyone to visit? We must balance the right to visit a national park with the privilege of enjoying it, and in doing so, balance current circumstances with long-term planning."

I probably assume many readers here are thinking the same thing I am. Just what is the sam's hell is Escoto implying here? I apologize for probably coming across as an alarmist, but I think we need to dig into this a lot deeper. Is there a proposal to close the south half of PINS?

more article analysis:
"Also last year, a live stranded green sea turtle was run over by a visitor who stopped to watch a biologist who was preparing to rescue it."
Translation: Visitors are a nuisance to authorized park users.

Full Article:
http://www.caller.com/news/2009/may/17/safety-for-people-endangered-turtles/

[ironmanstan]

Maybe not the first 30 miles but what about whats left over after that?
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I LIKE MINE FRIED.

[rabbit]

[Sherkus]

[rabbit]

Some one asked in an earlier posting about visitors finding turtles.


" Last year, 195 Kemp’s ridley nests were recorded on Texas beaches, 93 of which were in the park and of those 93, five were found by visitors."

Driving on PINS no mention that I could see about shutting any driving down except for speed limit.

"The temporary reduction in speed will not deny visitors access to desired destinations. There are 60 miles of beach between the end of the paved road and the Mansfield jetties. People who wish to drive to the channel will have to spend an additional hour and 36 minutes travel time each way. Overall, it takes an additional 96 seconds per mile at the new speed limit to reach any down island destination."

Some one I wont mention names made a statement in the caller times to the affect that 30 miles of PINS may be closed to driving. In the below mentioned comment they are stating that there is no idea of closing the beach to driving by visitors.

" Contrary to recent comments in the “Caller-Times,” there is no proposal to close the first 30 miles of Padre Island National Seashore to beach driving."
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Fishing and Kayaking its a rough life but somebody has to do it.

[ironmanstan]

Why doesn't anyone make a big deal out of all the smashed trutles you see on the road after a good rain. Oh, they are just sliders and box turtles, big deal. The only turtle I've ever seen on pins was a big ol turtle that washed up on the beach and stunk like a 3 day old gut wagon.
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I LIKE MINE FRIED.

[gonefishing]

I don't know...maybe Escoto was just trying to squash rumors, and I _really_ hope this is the case. I know he's a guest columnist, but he really choose some poor wording.

[larry meinert]

He is worried about the talk among some influential people. To set the record strait, there is no plan in the works to shut down the first 30 miles of Padre. What does this say to me? Watch out for the last 30 miles.

The first 3 paragraphs talk about the new legal speed limit being 15 mph on TX beaches. Doesn't mention the fact that the speed limit has been 25 MPH for the last 40 years for the last 55 miles of South beach. So much for the president set over the last 40 years of preceding Superintendents. It talks about the dangers of blowing through folks camps, I assume, at 25 MPH. Here is where I agree with Escato. People should slow down to 15 MPH through folks camps. Or even stop just to say hello. How many camps are you going to see down the Island, what, one every 5 miles? I also would like to see folks take the hi road around flocks of birds at 15 MPH, after all, it is a wild life refuge. This is what I do. The Cormorants and Pelicans always fly off any way but I think they might not if everyone drove around. But what to hell, what is the difference in a ticket that is a 45 in a 25 or 45 in a 15? What, 10 MPH what, $100? The difference is, it gives them legal right to pull you over. But what has stopped them? They now pull you over for no reason. This is the major complaint. The illegal detaining and searching of visitors, second to the stopping of visitors for petty violations like stop lights out or not signaling. Then they make visitors take field sobriety tests for no reason and when they pass the test, make them take breathalyzer tests anyway. I have to believe it is the work of a few rouge park rangers that are causing all the trouble. It is probably someone that was fired from some other park and ended up here. I hope it is just a mater of time before they are removed and before I get caught up in this illegal activity by the them because, I will stop my life and dedicate it to taking them to the supreme court before I knuckle under just so it won't be like that when my kids and grand kids visit the park in years to come.

It is the turtle s#'t that has got my panties in a wad. One Jack supple bum runs over one turtle and the whole world comes to an end. The fact is; turtles are not endangered from getting run over on south beach at any speed. I will stop here and reserve my comments for optimism on this subject because there is no optimism.

Obliviously the superintendent is hearing your comments otherwise he would not have made a statement on the subject for what that statement is worth. Keep up the pressure. Maybe we can get a compromise, 15 MPH around campers and flocks of birds. After all, we have this problem in the first place because the park rangers never enforced the 25 MPH rule .

[Fish2drink]

Send this to Escoto and have him learn a little something from the master himself.
It is 7 ½ min long but worth the laughs.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw
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The Hardhead Whisperer

[The Trash Heap]

This is serious business. If you're concerned enough to post comments here, you should also be posting to the site gonefishing gave us at this thread's beginning.
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The Trash Heap Has Spoken!
NNYYAAAHH!!!

[kweber]

how fast do the turtle patrol folks go? I'd bet it's way more than 15mph.
same with park rangers. hold 'em all accountable to 15.

everyone needs to pitch a waall-eyed fit when they see park and turtle people exceeding 15 mph. and the "we got word of a nesting turtle" excuse dont wash. they just might run over another no one's seen yet!
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the creepy uncle that scares the kids....

[SurfinSapo]

I posted on caller.com... It came from me heart...
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[bigmike585]

When i'm cruisin down the beach, I run as fast as possible unless camps, other drivers, sea turtle patrol is in view. I am always on the lookout for sea turtles and yesterday when my father and I were headin back north on PINS we saw a sea turtle. Realistically, I was probably doing at least 40 when I saw it. We stopped. It had already laid eggs so we held it at bay til the Sea Turtle Patrol came cruising up. We had to help her take measurements and such, then let it go. Then, I took off, probably reaching peak speeds of 40 mph. A police officer in somewhere around the 15 or 20 flashed his lights at me. I am kinda new at all this and didnt really think they enforced the speed limit. This weekend was my 3rd trip. I understand why a speed limit is necessary. I dont want someone blowin thru my camp at 50 mph. Someone could get killed. When i'm driving thru a camp I slow down to about 15 and am always watchin out for kids, pets, or anyone that may stumble into the trail. But the fact they changed the speed limit for the sea turtle issue is crazy. I want a healthy population but I don't see reducing the speed limit the solution.

Am I wrong for driving this fast?

[nickaway]

Joe speaks with forked tongue:

KEMP’S RIDLEY SEA TURTLE
(LEPIDOCHELYS KEMPII)

5-YEAR REVIEW:
SUMMARY AND EVALUATION

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE
OFFICE OF PROTECTED RESOURCES
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND
AND
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
SOUTHWEST REGION
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

AUGUST 2007

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/spec...

Of all the problems the Kemp is facing in the above report, vehicle traffic was not one of them. Pollution, global warming, boat traffic, and it even speculated that the turtles nesting as individuals might put them at risk. It will be many years before the turtles hit the beach on PINS in sufficient numbers to prevent the predators from eating them all, (Predator overload.) Joe very clearly stated at a meeting we had with him that the reduction of the speed limit was to prevent the Park from being sued if a turtle was squashed, no mention of a human. His reason for the speed limit reduction changes every time he makes a statement. Joe you need to get your story straight and stick to it. Regards Nick Meyer
http://CACrights.org

[larry meinert]

I tried to post this comment to Escato's letter in Caller.com like trash heap suggested. I couldn't get through.

I have been visiting the park for 37 years. The folks that worked there were always pleasant. They would advise visitors of violations and send them on their way. Violations like kids riding on the tailgate or pets not on a leash etc. and some still do this. But sense you arrived, there is a new mentality spreading through your staff that treats visitors like they are all hardened criminals from crime ridden areas in big cities. I'm talking about pulling visitors over for a tail light being out or simply no reason at all. Having a ranger detain visitors, search their vehicles all the time holding there hand on their gun, ruins the visit and for any future visit to the park. On by one you and your staff are running off the visitors. When folks call to complain, your supervisor condones these actions with lame excuses. It all started when you arrived.

The turtle program goal is to establish a new colony of turtles in the park. Fact is that the only way a new colony will survive is if there are 20 or 30 thousand turtles nesting in the park. Expect us to believe that the park will not be shut to visitors if this happens. Not to worry, they have been at it for 30 plus years, spent millions of dollars and tragically,loss of life trying to start this artificial colony with no success. Sorry but the 95 nests you get in the 75 miles of beach in the park are simply strays from the natural colony in Mexico. Even if you can get hi priced biologists to argue any of this, the fact is unarguable that the turtles are not endangered from being run over on south beach.

Speeding has always been a problem on south beach. I've had folks even guides blow through my camp at very unreasonable speeds. People react by digging trenches across the road or doing donuts in the road. I don't seem to recall any ranger ever addressing the speeding through camps problem. But if you reported someone digging trenches, the rangers were on them like a fly on stink. I suggest speed traps near folks camps. This would take care of the people causing this problem. Not by harassing the law abiding visitors.

Lowering the speed limit because the park might get sued if someone runs over a turtle is less likely than getting a class action suit for lowering a speed limit that has been established for 40 years that effects most every visitor. The 15 MPH speed limit is for state beaches not federal beaches. I don't think lowering the speed limit will change anyone's driving any way. The conditions on the beach dictate the speed folks drive.