Last week, the winter weather that hit the Coastal Bend caused many sea turtles to become cold-stunned. This led to team efforts of many organizations working together to rescue cold-stunned sea turtles. However, according to Nueces County Commissioner Brent Chesney, one organization that has historically stepped in to help cold-stunned sea turtles, did not.
“This is just a continuing pattern of behavior by this particular director. This isn’t the first time. If it was the first time, I wouldn’t be as upset about it," Commissioner Chesney said.
On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Padre Island National Seashore was closed. It is not PINS' responsibility to go out into the water and gather cold-stunned sea turtles. However, they do have facilities where cold-stunned sea turtles have warmed up and recovered during previous cold-stunned events.
Commissioner Chesney's office made an announcement on Friday, Jan. 24 with the headline "Hundreds of sea turtles saved by everyone but the agency that should have! Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) local director needs to go!"
The local director that he was referring to is the superintendent of Padre Island National Seashore (PINS), Eric Brunnemann.
“Other agencies were working. U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which is also a federal agency, was very involved in this process," Chesney said. "In fact, they had to go to the turtle lab over in PINS, and get the equipment that was needed to document these cold-stunned turtles and bring it over to Briscoe King, where we had to set up a temporary facility that we don’t have the capacity to do but we figured out a way to do it.”
Commissioner Chesney said that PINS decided to shut down for the day last Tuesday, which was the most crucial day for rescuing cold-stunned sea turtles in last week's cold weather. PINS volunteers were not happy about this decision either.
“Me personally, I’m not surprised. They’ve been under attack. Eric Brunneman is there to ruin the program and this is just another example," 10-year-long PINS Volunteer Paul Furman said.
Several other agencies helped rescue cold-stunned sea turtles last week. The Nueces County Coastal Parks Department, The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Texas State Aquarium, The Texas Sealife Center, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife are just some of them.
“Our Coastal Parks department, who deserves a ton of credit, for stepping up, just like these other agencies do, said absolutely. I mean, we’ll get people in there. We’re closed also on Tuesdays, but you know what, we’re not gonna let these sea turtles freeze," Chesney said.
KRIS 6 News Reporter Erin Holly reached out to PINS staff on Monday, Jan. 27 for an interview to ask why the park was shut down last Tuesday. She left a message on the phone and then received a text message from the public information officer, Kelly Taylor, asking to provide the specific questions that would be asked in the interview. KRIS 6 News informed Taylor that this goes against policy, and provided general interview topics. PINS did not respond after that.
In addition to PINS being closed, multiple longtime PINS volunteers received termination letters in the mail stating they are no longer allowed to volunteer at PINS. Two of these neighbors are Paul Furman and Jan Roberson.
“Didn’t have any evidence in it or anything, just said that I was terminated," Furman said.
"Volunteer services at Padre Island National Seashore are terminated effective immediately," Roberson said.
The reasoning for the termination of these volunteers was the same in both letters, stating:
- Deliberately making known false, malicious, or unfounded statements against co-workers, supervisors, or government officials which could undermine the authority or damage the reputation of those concerned.
- Disparaging remarks towards co-workers, supervisors, or government officials with the National Park Service
Both Furman and Roberson do not believe that the reasons provided in the letters are valid.
Neighbors and county officials alike said they believe that the issues regarding PINS could be fixed with new management.
“It’s getting old and we need somebody else that can come in, and work with the community," Chesney said.
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