4 groups have it in their care
National park in Texas, 130,434 acres, managed by the National Park Service, designated in 1962.
The defenders
3 groups are on the record for Padre Island, in the order they carry the weight. The range says how strongly our editors, the court dockets and their own filings tie each one here. Give directly; nothing routes through us.
On the ground
Advocacy · Washington, DC
Plaintiff in the challenge to the blanket Gulf oil and gas endangered species exemption, naming Padre Island among the threatened parks
217 staff + 900 volunteers78¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1919
Also in the fight
Legal · Charlottesville, VA
Filed the D.C. Circuit challenge to the Gulf-wide exemption for the plaintiff coalition
267 staff + 43 volunteers83¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1986
Advocacy · Reston, VA
Co-plaintiff in the God Squad suit over Gulf drilling impacts on Kemp’s ridley sea turtles
505 staff + 4,000 volunteers86¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1936
The situation
Seventy miles of undeveloped barrier island, the longest stretch of its kind in the world, and the most important nesting beach in the United States for the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. On March 31 the Endangered Species Committee voted to exempt all Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations from Endangered Species Act compliance through 2029. The first time in the ESA’s history that such a broad exemption has been granted for an entire federal program. Any drilling platforms approved during this window will operate for 40 to 50 years with minimal ESA oversight. The vote took 17 minutes behind closed doors.
Source: NPCA · March 31, 2026
No public comment window is open on Padre Island right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Your move
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Their donation page ↗SpeakCall your representativesA ready call script on Padre Island, plus any comment window as it opens.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands Map3 groups on the record, National Parks Conservation Association with 217 staff + 900 volunteers. That is who is holding it. Find your way in.
