Nestled about a foot deep in a makeshift well of sand on the no-man’s-land of shoreline between dunes and waves, about 75 eggs laid bare, vulnerable to the dangers of the Texas coast. But not for long. Within hours of the nest’s arrival, members of the Nueces County Coastal Parks Turtle Patrol cordoned the area off, protecting dozens of Kemp’s ridley sea turtle eggs on North Padre Island.
That nest, the first of the 2026 season, was recovered April 2—one of the earliest starts on record. Kemp’s ridley is the most endangered species of sea turtle on the planet and the only one native to Texas. Padre Island National Seashore is one of their only consistent nesting sites. They’re not alone: The Gulf of Mexico is home to more than two dozen species on the endangered list, each of which endured rigorous scrutiny and scientific analysis to determine if they met the high standards to qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Now, under a new decision rendered by the Trump administration, every one of those species’ protections have been made largely optional. The Endangered Species Committee, made up of six cabinet level officials, convened at the request of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asked that oil and gas drilling companies operating in the Gulf be exempted from mandates under the law requiring them to take steps to protect species vulnerable to extinction. Hegseth claimed the exemption was necessary for “national security.”
