U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall today announced the sixteen recipients of the Services 2006 National Recovery Champion award. The Recovery Champion award recognizes outstanding contributions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees and their partners towards efforts aimed at recovering threatened and endangered species in the United States.
Patrick Burchfield, PhD, Director of the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, was among those honored for his work in the recovery of the endangered Kemps ridley sea turtle.
The Recovery Champion award not only recognizes the exceptional conservation accomplishments of the honorees, it also provides the public with a unique opportunity to learn about endangered species conservation," said Hall. "These Recovery Champions are extraordinary conservationists dedicated to protecting and restoring our nations wildlife and ensuring that future generations of Americans enjoy the natural treasures we experience today."
The endangered Kemps ridley sea turtle is the smallest of sea turtles. Females lay their eggs in holes dug on beaches. When the hatchlings emerge some 47 to 60 days later, they make their way alone to the ocean. In the 2006 nesting season, there were more than 12,000 registered nests - considerably up from 702 nests in 1985. A bi-national group patrols the beaches in Tamaulipas to protect the nests. Dr. Burchfield coordinates the U.S. part of this group.
Dr. Burchfield brought together many diverse government and private agencies in the United States and Mexico to assist in recovering the Kemps ridley sea turtle. "Dr. Burchfields ability to attain and retain this level of cooperation between all stakeholders is one of the reasons that the Kemps ridley sea turtle is coming back from the brink of extinction," said Benjamin N. Tuggle, PhD, Regional Director of the Services Southwest Region. These groups include: the Service, NOAA Fisheries, Comision Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas, Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Procuradur
