Water plan threatens sea turtles, group warns (Texas) - via Herp Digest

By Matthew Tresaugue | October 11, 2013 

The endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle will be placed in harm's way with the suspension of freshwater, an environmental group warned. This will diminish the turtle's primary food source, blue crabs.

The endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle will be put in harm's way by a Central Texas river authority's emergency plan to cut off freshwater from Matagorda Bay, an environmental group warned state regulators Friday.

In a 12-page letter, the Matagorda Bay Foundation urged the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to reject the plan, saying the suspension of freshwater will diminish the turtle's primary food source, blue crabs. The commission is expected to vote next month on the plan.

'Do the right thing'

"We are asking the commission to do the right thing," said Jim Blackburn, a Houston attorney representing the foundation. "There is an incredibly strong linkage between flows into the bay and blue crabs and Kemp's ridleys."

Kemp's ridleys, he said, serve as indicators of the bay's ecological health.

Scientists already are concerned about an unexpected drop in the number of the sea turtle's nests. They found 153 nest along the Texas coast from May to July, down from 209 in 2012. The reason for the decline is not yet known.

The Lower Colorado River Authority, which is seeking the suspension order, also received Blackburn's letter and is reviewing it, a spokeswoman said.

In September, the river authority's board voted 9-6 to approve the drought-related plan, which would keep water in two key reservoirs near Austin for up to four months rather than allowing it to flow into Matagorda Bay.

The authority, which manages the river from the Hill Country to the bay, said it made the decision because of near-record low levels in the Highland Lakes, which provide water for more than 1 million people in and around Austin.

Freshwater needed

When the Colorado River is flowing into the bay, the freshwater mixes with the Gulf's backwash to create an ecological superconductor, with a seemingly endless supply of oysters, shrimp and fin fish. Kemp's ridleys, the smallest of the sea turtles, are a seasonal resident in this ecosystem.

But things have been unraveling during Texas' current drought. Less rain means less water coming out of the rivers that feed the bay and less dilution for the saltwater that creeps in from the Gulf.

If the water is too salty, it could be detrimental to the blue crabs, said Ronald Sass, a noted Rice University biologist who is helping the Matagorda Bay Foundation.

Blackburn made a similar argument in 2009 when he sued the state for denying endangered whooping cranes the freshwater they need to survive by allowing too many withdrawals on the Guadalupe River.

'Health of our bays'

A federal judge ruled that Texas officials must provide enough water to maintain the bird's habitat. But the state is seeking a reversal in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"This is different because there was a vote to kill Matagorda Bay," Blackburn said. "I don't think it's right, and I don't think it is in the best interest of Texas. This is about the health of our bays."