[image id="9175" title="Sea Turtle" class="size-medium wp-image-14763 alignright" width="300" height="245" ]The final launch of a newly hatched nest of Kemp's ridley sea turtles on Aug. 25 concluded the 2013 nesting season in the Coastal Bend region announced the Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science & Recovery.

If you still want to cheer on turtles returning to the wild, you can attend a launch of rehabilitated larger turtles at 10 a.m. Mon., Sept. 2 (Labor Day). Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) hosts the launch of several injured turtles the non-profit has saved and rehabilitated. ARK releases some 600 animals a year, including aquatic birds. The program, which began in the early 1980s, enlists volunteers to rescue and rahabilitat animals from Mustang, North Padre Islands and nearby communities.

The Labor Day release will be held on Mustang Island at Mile Marker 35. Several turtles have been rehabilitated at the ARK and are ready to go home, so bring your cameras and get ready to document an ecological and environmental success story.

Follow these NPA directions to get there on time: From Hwy 361, turn east onto Access Road 1A (just north of the golf cart overpass), follow the road down to the beach, turn right (heading south), and follow the mile marker posts until you reach Mile Marker 35.

Successful year despite decline in nests

Texas is the largest U.S. nesting ground for the turtles outside of Mexico. Last year, 209 nests were found. This year, the number dropped to 153. Nests in Mexico also declined. Previously, nests had grown by about 12 percent over recent years. Nests are counted from May to July, with hatches continuing into late August.

Nearly extinct in the 1960s, Kemp's ridley sea turtles have made a comeback, although nothing near the 40,000 nests counted in 1947.

Reasons for the recent decline include a lasting result of the BP Gulf Oil spill in 2010 and a drop in winter temperatures along the coast.

For more on the sea turtle program on Padre Island, check out the National Park Service website.