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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas traditionally has recognized a |
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variety of official symbols as tangible representations of the |
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proud character and colorful heritage of the Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, Select members of the animal kingdom, including the |
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longhorn, the armadillo, and the Texas horned lizard, are among the |
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species that have been formally recognized, and their designation |
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has served to draw attention to the great biological diversity of |
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the state's landscape and to highlight creatures who are unique to |
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or closely identified with the state; and |
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WHEREAS, An especially rich natural environment is found |
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along the Texas Gulf Coast, and of the many distinctive species |
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found in that region, the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys |
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kempii) is particularly deserving of recognition; and |
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WHEREAS, Identifiable by its nearly circular upper shell, the |
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Kemp's ridley makes its home primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, though |
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it is also found in the Atlantic Ocean; after hatching, the male |
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turtles spend their entire lives at sea; the females come ashore |
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only to lay eggs, and they do so in large, synchronized groups, an |
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extraordinary phenomenon known in Spanish as arribada, meaning |
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"arrival"; while they are the smallest of the eight types of sea |
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turtles in the world, they can still weigh up to 100 pounds and grow |
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to 2.5 feet in length; and |
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WHEREAS, This remarkable creature is part of an inspiring |
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conservation success story; following an alarming population |
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decline that began in the 1940s, the Kemp's ridley teetered on the |
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brink of extinction and was placed on the Endangered Species List in |
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1970; it has made a heroic recovery, however, as a result of a |
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collaborative protection program begun in 1978 by the United States |
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and Mexico; this initiative has helped implement the use of turtle |
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excluder devices by the commercial shrimp fleet, which allow sea |
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turtles to escape the trawling nets that were causing large numbers |
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of deaths; another important development has been the establishment |
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of a secondary nesting colony at Padre Island National Seashore in |
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Texas, which supplements the main nesting site in Mexico; as of |
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2012, more than 100 turtle nests were identified at the national |
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seashore, with another 100 in other Texas coastal areas; and |
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WHEREAS, A number of organizations and universities in the |
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state have taken part in the campaign to safeguard the turtles, with |
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Texas A&M University at Galveston, The University of Texas Marine |
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Science Institute, and the National Marine Fisheries Service being |
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central players in the initiative; and |
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WHEREAS, Once the most imperiled of all sea turtles, the |
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Kemp's ridley is today becoming a more common resident of the Gulf |
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Coast waters; its comeback is a testament to its resilience and to |
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the admirable work of those Texans who have aided its recovery, and |
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this noble animal is indeed a fitting symbol of the Lone Star State; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate the Kemp's ridley sea turtle as the official State |
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Sea Turtle of Texas. |