Sea turtles moved to Corpus Christi

Helping hands An Atlantic green sea turtle that was rescued from the cold near South Padre Island is tagged by Jeff George, curator at Sea Turtle Inc. last week. (Joe Hermosa/Associated Press)

State biologists moved more than 100 sea turtles from South Padre Island to Corpus Christi this week.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the Texas State Aquarium agreed to shelter the cold-stunned Atlantic green sea turtles that started washing ashore last week in the Laguna Madre.

Before the move, which lasted Monday and Tuesday, the turtles had exceeded the capacity of rehabilitation center Sea Turtle Inc. and the University of Texas—Pan American’s Coastal Studies Lab.

Volunteers rescued the turtles last week as bay water temperatures dropped by approximately 10 degrees into the low 50s.

As of Thursday, volunteers had recovered approximately 130 turtles in South Texas. Most were found near South Padre Island, though two were saved near Corpus Christi, said Jeff George, curator of Sea Turtle Inc.

At least 19 turtles had died from the cold weather or other complications.

“This has been the largest turtle stranding in state history,” George said.

An e-mail from Sea Turtle Inc.’s national coordinator on Thursday read, “In Texas in 1997, there was a similar number of cold-stunned green turtles to what you have had this year, but it was over a much longer time period of mid-January through early February and not so many were found alive.”

The coordinator also wrote that Massachusetts often finds between 100 to 200 cold-stunned sea turtles, mainly the endangered Kemp’s ridleys, in November and December. The largest scenario in that state involved 270 cold-stunned turtles in 2001.

The nation’s largest number of cold-stunned turtles on record occurred from December 2000 to January 2001, when more than 400 green and loggerhead turtles were found in a two to three day periods in St. Joe Bay in Florida, near Panama City, the coordinator wrote.

The turtles rescued in the Laguna Madre and sent to Corpus Christi will likely be released when waters there reach 62 degrees, George said.

George said the species of turtles will then be able to migrate in its full range across international waters.

High tides in the Laguna Madre this week have hampered efforts to search for more turtles, he said.

George said the Discovery Channel’s “Daily Planet” called Thursday morning with intentions of airing footage of the rescues.

On Friday, two live turtles and four dead were found.

But the promise of warmer weather has given people at the Sea Turtle Inc. a reason to feel more optimistic.

“We’re getting some reports that they’re bobbing in the water. They’ll stick their heads out and then go under. That’s common when they’re coming out of [being lethargic],” George said. “They’re still sluggish, but not so sluggish that you’d want to throw them on your boat.”

Tuesday
County considers jail upgrades
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ
The Brownsville Herald

Upgrades to the current Cameron County jails and an addition to a jail could cost the county an estimated $43 million, county commissioners learned Tuesday.

The figure includes a revamping the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito, adding an additional 650 beds to the facility and converting a county warehouse at the detention center to fit 338 more beds.

County Judge Carlos H. Cascos didn’t seem pleased by such a sum, questioning where the money would come from to fund to the projects.

The cost estimates were discussed Tuesday at a Cameron County Commissioners Workshop meeting. The workshop was held to give county commissioners an update on the status of the Carrizalez -Rucker Detention Center in Olmito.

The extra 650 beds at Carrrizalez-Rucker would bring that facility’s bed count to 1,300, which is the number county officials intended it to have when talks on the project began more than a decade ago.

Carrizalez-Rucker opened in 2002 at a cost of $20 million.

As of Tuesday, the inmate count at all county jails was 1,259.

Architects with the Dallas-based Aguirre Corp. said it would cost $21 million to the detention center to a maximum-security facility. It is currently medium-security.

However, Sheriff Omar Lucio said the county could do the construction for less.

“We can do some of the work in-house. We are not talking about a major project,” Lucio said, estimating the work could be done for about $1 million.

Adding an additional 650 beds to the facility would cost about $24 million, said the firm’s Frost E. Gardner.

This figure includes the construction of three pods that would house 192 beds each. Each pod would have its own recreational area, Gardner said.