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Support the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act

Act today to help sea turtles!

Strandings of endangered and threatened sea turtles happen for many different reasons, including injuries due to human activities in the ocean and the effects of climate change. Dozens of aquariums, zoos, and other volunteer organizations around the country respond to and care for these stranded sea turtles. Each year, the need for rescue and rehabilitation of stranded sea turtles continues to grow. While all six species of sea turtles found in the US are protected under the Endangered Species Act, there is little to no federal support directly available to organizations helping these animals.

The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act begins to address this longstanding and widening funding gap. This bipartisan bill would establish a federal grant program to support the organizations that rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles, providing them with stable and sustainable funding to help ensure more sea turtles recover and return to the ocean.

Join more than 60 organizations across the country in urging your members of Congress to cosponsor the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act.

Fill out the form below to connect with your representatives and ask for their support.

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Contact your Senators and House Representative today about your support for the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act.

Subject: Please cosponsor the bipartisan Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act

Message:

As your constituent, I’m writing to encourage you to improve investment in sea turtle stranding response and rehabilitation by cosponsoring the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act of 2023 (H.R. 2560 / S. 2086). Organizations that make up the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (Network) face increasing demands to respond to and care for federally protected sea turtles that strand in part due to human-related threats like plastic pollution, fisheries bycatch, and rising ocean temperatures which directly affects migration and threatens nesting zones. Although maintaining the Network is part of every sea turtle recovery plan, federal funding is severely inadequate as most rescue and rehabilitation institutions voluntarily help fulfill federal mandates and currently operate with little to no direct federal support. On the other hand, many of the same institutions also participate in marine mammal stranding networks and are eligible for direct support via the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, which provides funds that help support eligible stranding network participants to respond to and care for federally protected marine mammal species. Costs of care for stranded sea turtles are significant: in one year, just eight facilities collectively spent $5 million to rescue, rehabilitate and release hundreds of sea turtles. Over the past decade, at least 4,000 sea turtles nationwide are reported stranded each year. The level of voluntary contribution to federal efforts to protect animals covered by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is not sustainable. Sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation facilities are committed to continuing to provide expert care to save sea turtles, but these organizations need federal support for the important role they play. It is time to invest in a solution that helps maintain the Network, as well as the important research and data collection its institutions contribute to sea turtle recovery and conservation. The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act will create a grant program to provide direct support to institutions and organizations around the country – from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico – that rescue and rehabilitate threatened and endangered sea turtles. Grant funding will also support additional data collection necessary for ongoing sea turtle conservation research. This bipartisan bill is modeled after the successful Prescott grant program and is supported by over 60 organizations across the country. I urge you to cosponsor and work to pass the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act.

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