Update on Wings Rescue
By Tyler Thorsen
We received this update from the Wings Rescue that we made the donation to earlier this year and just wanted to share.
Hello Aaron and all Friends of Padre,



By Tyler Thorsen
We received this update from the Wings Rescue that we made the donation to earlier this year and just wanted to share.
Hello Aaron and all Friends of Padre,
By Tyler Thorsen
By Tyler Thorsen
By Tyler Thorsen
Thanks to all of you who made this possible - the sponsors, the volunteers, the National Park Service personnel, and our Friends of Padre team. We had to wait until all of the roll off dumpsters were weighed before calling it official so here are the numbers!
A record 2500 volunteers cleaned a record 32 miles of beach from the 18 mile mark all the way to the 50 mile mark removing 40 tons of trash from the Big Shell area and south on our beloved Padre Island National Seashore!
By Tyler Thorsen
Dr. Jen Brown highlights the history of the Friends of Padre and the 25th Annual Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup. There's classic audio of Captain Billy that sure is nice to hear. Thank you, Dr. Brown!
By Tyler Thorsen
On 23 April, 1 Kemp's ridley nest was located on the Texas coast, on San Jose Island.
Total numbers of nests found in Texas this year, by species and area, have been updated below.
KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE
So far this year, 28 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state):
0 Bolivar Peninsula
0 Galveston Island
0 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside
0 Surfside Beach
0 Quintana Beach
0 Bryan Beach
0 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach
0 Sargent Beach
0 Matagorda Peninsula
0 Matagorda Island
1 San Jose Island
1 Mustang Island
18 North Padre Island, including 16 at Padre Island National Seashore
7 South Padre Island
1 Boca Chica Beach
Data presented here are preliminary. Do not cite or quote without permission. Contact Donna Shaver (donna_shaver@nps.gov) for further information or if you wish to be removed from this email distribution list. Updates regarding nesting will be posted at the Padre Island National Seashore website: www.nps.gov/pais.
Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D.
Chief, Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore
Texas Coordinator, Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network
Telephone (361) 949-8173, ext. 226; fax: (361) 949-9134
E-mail: donna_shaver@nps.gov
Website: http://www.nps.gov/pais/
By Tyler Thorsen
For years the joke around most of Billy's younger friends and minions was that we always called him "Dad". Though he never had any kids of his own, Billy had many sons and daughters that loved him like a father, yours truly included. The joke between Captain David Rowsey and I was that when Billy passed that I would get his collection of 51M mirrolures and Rowsey would get his cherished Corky collection. I'd say "Dad always liked me best!".
So one year after his passing and just after what would have been his 72nd birthday, Joy Sandifer was kind enough to let Friends of Padre Board Members, Jeff Wolda, Troy Adler, and I take his ashes back to what he called "Home" - the Padre Island National Seashore.
We met up in the parking lot at 6:15am on Friday June 14th. Jeff and I had Billy on board with us with Troy Adler following behind. Several years ago on a trip down the beach, Billy showed Troy the exact spot he wanted his ashes to be. Troy asked if he wanted them spread on the wind or buried? Billy thought about it and said "If you toss them in the wind and my "ear" itches ( only he didn't say ear) but my hand is fifteen feet that way, how am I going to scratch it?" So he decided he wanted them put into a hole but not buried.
We laughed and told Billy stories and fished for his beloved surf trout on the way down to our secret undisclosed location. The trout fishing was good and the weather and water was beautiful.
Once we reached our location, Jeff wanted to do something to honor Billy and that was to toss the lure which he had used to catch the biggest trout he has ever caught on the Padre Island National Seashore. Billy was there and said "Call it 30" but it was just 29.999 so that's what Jeff called it.
We gathered Billy's ashes and the items he asked that we place with his remains including a rattlesnake rattle, to connect him to the beings that live on the ground and feathers to connect him with those that can fly and two spear points found on the island.
Our final destination up on the top of the dune.
Billy picked a wonderful resting place. The view from the surf to the bay is incredible. Billy asked that we not do any prayers or words but to get it done and walk away. We almost did that but each of us were fighting back tears saying goodbye.
And now Captain Billy Sandifer is home. We miss you, Dad!
Love,
Tyler
Captain Billy Sandifer 6/11/1947 - 3/31/2018 "Life's a hoot. Get you some of it!"
By Tyler Thorsen
The Friends of Padre Adopted that section of Park Rd 22 between Commodores Dr. and Whitecap. We pick up trash there at least two times annually and Thursday evening March 28th was the first cleanup this year. Thanks to all of the motorists who drove by us carefully or waved hello.
Pictured left to right Friends of Padre board members, Kevin Eager, Troy Adler, Steve Gregory, and Jeff Wolda, Cody Moravits and Tyler Thorsen were also present. This stretch contains about 4 miles of actual surface given both sides of the highway and both sides of the median.