CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Senator John Cornyn has sent word to Nueces County officials that the Turtle Science and Recovery Program at the Padre Island National Seashore is not going to have its budget cut.
Last year there was an online petition asking the US Secretary of the Interior to stop the proposed funding cuts.
More recently the Nueces County Commissioner's Court reached out to Senator John Cornyn's office about the situation. The Senator's office said they've gotten an assurance from the National Park Service that Dr. Donna Shaver’s sea turtle funding will not be harmed.
They also said that there was no evidence of an attempt to ban vehicles from the beach which would violate the Texas Open Beaches Act.
Nueces County Commissioner, Brent Chesney said that the program will be funded for another four years.
“I appreciate Senator Cornyn's staff responding to our inquiries and says the Secretary of Interior has told them that that is funded for another four years,” Chesney said. “I think that's very encouraging. He's also assured us that they're not trying to get take cars off the beach which is something we don't want to do either."
The Secretary of Interior is also looking at possibly overriding the National Park Service's review of the sea turtle program. Supporters of Dr. Shaver said that review aims to cut funding and prohibit beach traffic.