Unveiling the Hidden Importance of Turtles in Galveston
The Secret Life of Sea Turtles (and How to Respect It)
“The turtles have heard the call of Galveston’s shore for millions of years—now, we must hear their call for help.”
Galveston’s connection to sea turtles runs deeper than public art—it’s rooted in biology, conservation, and a shared coastline under threat. This article explores the secret lives of sea turtles, including nesting habits, species diversity, and the ancient instincts guiding their journeys. It highlights Galveston’s growing role in protecting endangered species like the Kemp’s Ridley through beach patrols, habitat restoration, and community education. From climate change and rising tides to simple beach etiquette, every decision we make affects the future of these remarkable creatures—and of the island itself.
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This short video isn’t a retelling of the article—it’s a visual reflection. A few quiet, coastal moments that capture why sea turtles—and this island—mean so much to me.
It’s not about facts or stats. It’s about feeling. About seeing Galveston the way I see it: a place where nature still speaks, if we’re willing to slow down and listen.
— Christy Landriault
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TL;DR Section
The Secret Life of Sea Turtles
Sea turtles have become a beloved symbol in Galveston—but beyond the art and alerts are real, endangered animals that need our help.
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Kemp’s ridleys—the world’s most endangered sea turtle—nest right here on Galveston-area beaches.
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Galveston’s conservation legacy runs deep, from NOAA’s early head-start program to today’s research led by the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research.
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Sea turtles are vital to coastal ecosystems, helping maintain healthy seagrass beds, reefs, and ocean floors.
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Local groups and volunteers play a crucial role, from beach patrols and nest protection to public education and advocacy.
👉 Want to understand what’s really at stake—and how you can help? Read the full story below!
The Secret Life of Sea Turtles (and How to Respect It)
Christy Landriault - Proud 39er and Co-Founder
“When we protect Galveston, we protect more than a shoreline—we protect a legacy of resilience that includes the sea turtles who’ve called it home long before we did.” ~ Christy Landriault
They greet visitors from art galleries, parks, sidewalks, and storefronts—brightly painted sea turtle sculptures scattered across the island like coastal guardians. The Turtles About Town project began as a way to raise awareness, but it’s become something more: a symbol of how deeply Galveston has embraced its role in protecting these ancient mariners.
Locals now report turtle sightings with the same urgency they once reserved for storms. But beyond the fiberglass and phone alerts lies a quieter truth: the real sea turtles of Galveston live secret, extraordinary lives—carried by tides, guided by instinct, and increasingly threatened by our choices. Their survival depends not just on admiration, but on action—and protecting Galveston itself is the key to protecting them.
Meet Galveston’s Wild Sea Turtles
Meet Galveston’s Wild Sea Turtles
They’ve outlived the dinosaurs, crossed oceans, and returned—again and again—to the beaches where their stories began. Galveston Island plays host to several sea turtle species, each with its own rhythm and role in the coastal ecosystem.
Green sea turtles are the most commonly spotted offshore, often seen grazing on seagrass beds near jetties or boat channels. Loggerheads may nest occasionally along the Texas coast—about once every other year on the Upper Coast—but they are rare. While green sea turtle nesting is expanding northward, they have not yet established nesting here.
But it’s the Kemp’s ridley—the smallest, most endangered sea turtle on Earth—that makes Galveston’s role especially meaningful.
🟢 Kemp’s Ridley Spotlight
- Critically endangered and once on the brink of extinction, Kemp’s ridleys are the rarest of all sea turtle species.
- They are the only species known to nest during the day, and the only sea turtles nesting regularly on the Upper Texas Coast.
- Their primary nesting grounds remain in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Padre Island, but for several decades, they’ve also returned to Galveston-area beaches.
- Since formal surveys began in 2002, Texas A&M University at Galveston has led the region’s monitoring efforts, typically recovering 12–15 nests each year.
- In April 2025, the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research (GCSTR) confirmed the second nest of the season on Surfside Beach—a clutch of 99 eggs discovered by volunteers with the Sea Aggie Sea Turtle Patrol, a GCSTR program.
These nesting events are remarkable—but they’re not new, and not a sign of local recovery on their own. The Upper Texas Coast lies just outside the species’ historic nesting range, and while Galveston plays a consistent role in the broader effort, recovery is measured statewide, across all Texas beaches.
📍 Note: Most nests laid on the Upper Coast are carefully relocated to protected incubation sites at Padre Island National Seashore, which offers higher hatch success rates and helps safeguard against local threats like flooding and predators.
📦 Conservation Legacy: The Foundations Beneath Today’s Efforts
Before there were patrols and painted turtles, Galveston’s conservation roots were already decades deep.
For over 40 years, the NOAA Galveston Laboratory ran a pioneering head-start program for Kemp’s ridleys, helping re-establish this endangered species in the Gulf. The Houston Zoo, under the guidance of experts like Dr. Joe Flanagan, also played a vital role in rescue, rehabilitation, and veterinary care for sea turtles along the coast.
These efforts helped lay the foundation for the work now led by the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research (GCSTR) at Texas A&M University at Galveston—the only sea turtle research center at a Texas university permitted to conduct hands-on work with wild sea turtles.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of those who came before us,” says Dr. Christopher Marshall, director of GCSTR. “Their legacy continues in every nest we protect and every turtle we help rehabilitate.”
The Ancient Journey
Long before beach houses and condos dotted the coast, sea turtles were navigating these same waters. Their lives are built on instinct—and risk.
- Nesting: Female Kemp’s ridleys crawl ashore during the day to dig nests with their flippers. While artificial light is a major concern in many nesting areas, it’s not currently a significant factor on the Upper Texas Coast.
- Hatchlings: After about 50 days, hatchlings emerge—often mid-morning or afternoon—facing predators like ghost crabs, birds, and raccoons before they even reach the surf.
- Migration: Sea turtles travel thousands of miles through the open ocean, navigating dangers from fishing gear and oil spills to boat strikes and shrinking feeding grounds.
- Return: While females are believed to return to their natal region, it’s not exact. On the Texas coast, most nests are relocated to the protected beaches of Padre Island National Seashore, where incubation is more secure.
🐢 Did you know? Leatherback sea turtles can dive deeper than most whales—up to 4,000 feet beneath the surface.
Why Sea Turtles Matter
Sea turtles do more than inspire awe—they help keep entire ecosystems in balance.
- Seagrass Health: Green sea turtles graze on seagrass beds, keeping them short and healthy—essential for commercially and recreationally important fish species.
- Reef Systems: Hawksbills help control sponge growth on coral reefs, allowing corals to thrive.
- Seafloor Balance: Kemp’s ridleys and loggerheads feed on crabs, shellfish, and other bottom-dwellers, maintaining balance in benthic habitats.
If sea turtles disappeared, we wouldn’t just lose a species—we’d risk unraveling the very systems that keep coastal life (and livelihoods) thriving.
Galveston’s Role in Their Future
Barrier islands like Galveston are more than vacation spots—they’re part of a larger ecological network supporting nesting, feeding, and migration. And the island is rising to the occasion.
Through programs like the Sea Aggie Sea Turtle Patrol and research at the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research (GCSTR), Texas A&M University at Galveston plays a central role in sea turtle science and conservation on the Upper Texas Coast. GCSTR is currently leading an effort to expand its short-term rehabilitation hospital into a modern education and outreach center—complete with non-releasable turtles the public can see and learn from.
Meanwhile, Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) helps amplify public awareness through community education, conservation campaigns, and initiatives like the TIDE Campaign, which advocates for a new discovery and education center in Galveston. Their outreach encourages stewardship across all ages and backgrounds, making sea turtle protection accessible to everyone.
Other groups—including Artist Boat, the Galveston Bay Foundation, Jamaica Beach, and the Village of Surfside—work alongside the Texas General Land Office, USFWS, and the Army Corps of Engineers to protect and restore the habitats turtles depend on.
Save the Island, Save the Turtles
Protecting sea turtles means protecting the place they depend on—and that means facing Galveston’s greatest challenge: climate change.
- Rising temperatures can skew sex ratios in turtle hatchlings (but because most Texas nests are relocated, local sand temperatures are not currently impacting hatchling development)
- Erosion and sea-level rise reduce available nesting habitat
- Stronger storms can destroy nests and damage critical habitat
Galveston’s nature-based resilience efforts—like dune building, wetland restoration, and oyster reef construction—benefit not only the island’s residents and economy but also its wildlife.
Save the Island, Save the Turtles
Protecting sea turtles means protecting the place they depend on—and that means facing Galveston’s greatest challenge: climate change.
- Rising temperatures can skew sex ratios in turtle hatchlings (but because most Texas nests are relocated, local sand temperatures are not currently impacting hatchling development)
- Erosion and sea-level rise reduce available nesting habitat
- Stronger storms can destroy nests and damage critical habitat
Galveston’s nature-based resilience efforts—like dune building, wetland restoration, and oyster reef construction—benefit not only the island’s residents and economy but also its wildlife.
A Shared Future
From painted sculptures to early morning nest discoveries, sea turtles have become part of Galveston’s identity. And locals have stepped up—reporting nests, respecting the dunes, and setting an example for visitors to follow.
But the work isn’t over.
A Shared Future
From painted sculptures to early morning nest discoveries, sea turtles have become part of Galveston’s identity. And locals have stepped up—reporting nests, respecting the dunes, and setting an example for visitors to follow.
But the work isn’t over.
🧡 What You Can Do: Turtle Tips for Locals and Visitors
You don’t need a degree to make a difference. Just a little awareness goes a long way.
✅ Easy Ways to Help:
- Join or organize a beach cleanup
- Recycle plastic bags—or better yet, avoid them entirely
- Pick up fishing lines, hooks, and other debris
- Fill in holes dug on the beach, which can trap hatchlings
- Plant native, coastal-friendly plants in your yard or neighborhood
🏖️ Etiquette During Nesting Season:
- Avoid unnecessary disturbances
- Respect nests and give volunteers space to work
- Report turtle tracks, nests, or hatchlings to a ranger, patroller, or call 1-866-TURTLE-5
🧪 Support the Science and Stewardship
🧪 Support the Science and Stewardship
If you’d like to support Galveston’s sea turtles long-term, consider contributing to the groups working hardest to protect them.
🐢 Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research (GCSTR)
The only sea turtle research center at a Texas university
- Leads monitoring, recovery, and hands-on rehabilitation
- Raising funds for a modern hospital and outreach facility
- The only group in the region permitted to conduct hands-on work with wild sea turtles
- Responsible for the Texas Sea Turtle Specialty License Plate
🔗 Learn more or donate
🏥 Visit the Sea Turtle Hospital
🚘 Get the Texas Sea Turtle License Plate
🌊 Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN)
- Advocates for education and community-based conservation
- Supports the TIDE Campaign to build a Turtle Island Discovery & Education Center in Galveston
🔗 Support the TIDE Campaign
Christy Landriault
Co-Founder of Falcontail Marketing & Design and The 1839
Christy Landriault co-founded both Falcontail and The 1839 with her husband, David. A lifelong nature lover with a deep affection for Galveston, she’s passionate about telling local stories and protecting the island’s wild spaces. Her work helps small businesses grow with purpose and personality — always grounded in community, creativity, and heart.
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