The tragedies unfolding in the Gulf Coast aren’t just affecting its people, jobs, and coastline. The animals in the Gulf Coast are suffering greatly—particularly the loggerhead sea turtle. Loggerhead sea turtles were already under attack well before the oil spill even occurred, however. In the past ten years, their numbers have dwindled down to half their normal nesting females.

Considered a threatened species, the loggerhead is now being considered for endangered status by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The Gulf region is so important to this species because it’s the turtle’s second-biggest nesting area—not just in the United States, but in the world itself. Without it, the species is sure to suffer a further decline.

Furthermore, when the hatchlings who do emerge from the area finally break free to join their relatives in the water, they, too, will perish. Toxic oil will kill them as they make their way from the shore to the water, thereby eliminating the species only source of renewal.

In order to combat the damage already inflicted by humans—particularly the current oil spill that has only served to worsen the problem—dubbing the turtles endangered is critical. This status, protective for any species beneath it, would ensure that the turtles are provided with additional consideration and concern.

Rather than dismissing them—and chalking up their poisoning, burning, and death during the Gulf spill as a simple loss rather than several dangerous steps closer to extinction—endangered status would call attention to their plight and ensure further protection nationally. Providing animals with this key status is a positive step in making sure that effective management policies and procedures are not only implemented but followed. Many species have been brought back from near extinction with protective measures implemented through this status.

As the turtles encounter the oil, their skin is harmed, often even lost from their bodies. Not only does the oil poison them and take away their nesting grounds—it also leaves them vulnerable to drowning. They need to be seen as individual losses rather than a voiceless, imageless piece of the collective losses we’re witnessing.

Please sign this petition the National Marine Fisheries Service today and ask that the loggerhead sea turtles be listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. While the petition does not allow for customization like a letter, there is a space for public comments, so be sure to include any other thoughts you have on the turtles.